March of the Forsaken
by ainzOoalGo
Summary: Fanvolume 12 of the overlord saga! do not read unless you have read vol 11 to avoid spoilers( or don't I'm a summary not a cop). (discontinued) soon to start publishing my very own light novel and web novel. if anyone wants to pick up this story or Lodos plz let me know :p
1. prologue

**Prologue**

Tears…

Right now little drops of liquid ran like diamonds over the face of the little girl as she stared from the balcony down onto the main street of the city. The scene would be enough to give any poet or bard inspiration but no one would dare to make a sad poem or song about this particular little girl in this kingdom.

Draudillon Oriculus the queen of the draconic Kingdom or at least what was left of it. The once glorious nation had now been reduced to but half of its territory due to the invasion of the Beastmen.

Now she as its sovereign could do little but watch as another batch of wounded and beaten soldiers returned to the capital. Many of them had their arms bitten off or their faces torn apart by the sharp claws of the Beastmen.

At last the situation had progressed to this point where the threat of the Beastmen was so close that the wounded would directly flee to the capital as it was quite possibly the last safe place in the nation. According to the reports the invading army of Beastmen had split up into several smaller groups and one big group that moved from village to village from city to city as they pillaged and killed all across the land. The number of deaths was no longer simply in the thousands as now the largest portion of the army had come to a halt just one city away from the capital which meant its next target would most likely be the capital itself.

If this city fell than the entire nation was doomed.

The queen fully realizing this could not help but weep as no matter what she would decide the was destined to see the downfall of this nation as she knew it.

 _Should I just run or maybe set out to find my Great-Grandfather?_

She briefly considered this thought but quickly discarded it. If she ran it would haunt her for the rest of her days and if she tried to find her grandfather she would have little chance to actually find him and there was no guarantee that he would help her. Moreover even if he was willing it would not be for free and her nation did not have any funds to give. So much of her nation's wealth had already been wasted on futile attempts to slow down the approaching invasion.

"Maybe I should consider using it after all. I can start by gathering up criminals and old people but even with them I'd be short hundreds of thousands of sacrifices…. Ah what disaster."

Wiping the tears of her face the queen let out a deep long sigh as she turned around and prepared to go back into her chambers but was stumped to see one of her ministers standing in front of her with a seemingly sincere smile on his face. He must have seen her cry and waited for her to calm down she thought.

"What is it?" she asked without any of the usual cuteness in her voice that she would display in front of most of her subordinates. This minister was one of her confidants so there was no need to keep up the façade.

"I've received news from the various nations regarding sending us help as well as some of the adventurer teams that we appealed to."

Draudillon became surprised. Considering the current situation she had not thought that any of the neighboring nations would send her aid or even answer her calls. She had long since come to learn about the existence of the Sorcerous Kingdom in the north-west and how it had affected the other nations. If even half the rumors were true than no help of any sort would be arriving for some time.

With both the Theocracy and the Empire now fully focused on the Sorcerous Kingdom there would be no chance of either of them paying any attention to the Draconic Kingdom, no matter how dire their situation may be.

"Humph, so it turns out there are still people out there that are willing so support us huh? Well then let's hear it, who can we depend on to come to us in our darkest hour?"

At this point the minister showed a wry smile, an expression that Draudillon had long since come to know as the "why me smile" that foretold no small amount of troubling news was about to come her way.

"Yes your majesty. It seems that as expected the Empire has ignored our pleas for help and is currently too busy with their own internal affairs to help us."

This was not a surprise considering they were in the middle of turning over virtually all of their power to the Sorcerous Kingdom. What chance would there be that an undead would allow them to help other living beings?

"However it seems that the Theocracy has sent us some men of extraordinary abilities to help us."

Hearing this the queen perked up a bit. If it was one of the scriptures there would still be a chance that the invasion might be halted if not at least delayed. Depending on the scripture it was even possible to drive back the Beastmen completely.

"Is it the Black Scripture?" The queen asked as she stared intently.

"No your majesty it seems that the ones sent this time are…retired members from the Theocracy's scriptures…"

The queen almost wanted to pretend she hadn't heard that, that the only thing she had heard was that help had arrived. But alas she just had to go and ask questions…

"Haah, fine. And? What about adventurers?"

Although she already knew the answer that would follow she still had to ask for the sake of asking. In her entire kingdom there was only one adventurer team that would help her in these circumstances…

"Yes… as expected Cerabrate has agreed to your terms and says he will aid your majesty in whatever way he can provided you deliver on your promises as well."

Draudillon once again turned around to see the droves of people that had managed to barely escape with their lives. At last it had come to the point here only one course of action remained and that was to be ready to give up anything in exchange for even the slightest glimmer of hope. Even if it meant giving in to that piece of filth's demands she as a queen had a responsibility to do so.

"It seems even I in the end will become a plaything for that man's perversions for the sake of protecting this land."

Taking one last deep sigh she closed her eyes and spoke quietly to her minister.

"You can leave now… tell that pig I agree and he'll receive his reward if successful."

"But your majesty there's more to the report than just Crystal Tear."

The queen's eyes snapped open once more. If not Crystal Tear than the only other conclusion was…

"Has Optics agreed to help us as well after all?"

If the legendary workers group Optics would help them as well than even the Beastmen would be in for a tough fight.

"No, unfortunately they still insist that working without proper compensation is a waste of their time. But we have received a message from another Adamantite adventurer team that is offering their services in the name of their country to help rid us of these Beastmen. The renowned adventurer team of E-Rantel whose heroic deeds I'm told are too many to name. The great Momon and Nabe of team Darkness!"

At this point the queen no longer looked merely surprised and instead stared in a stupefied manner as if struck by lightning. The only thing that she was able to squeeze from her almost gaping mouth was but one sound that echoed loudly from the balcony where she stood.

"Haaaaaaah?"

 **Author's Afterword:**

 **For those of you who haven't read my work before welcome and glory to Ainz Ooal gown. I'm a lowly writer who loves writing as canon as possible overlord fanfics. Please read my earlier works and look forward to my next work by following and favoriting the previous ones! Simple right?**

 **For those that already know my work and are waiting impatiently for Lodos, I think this quells the thirst a bit wouldn't you say? I honestly don't know when I'll do Lodos when I'm stuck in such a writer's block with that but I'll continue it sometime don't worry!**

 **With a new volume of overlord done it's time to make a new fanvolume after volume 11 and 10 btw instead of everyone asking me for links you can all go find them on the overlord Discord just as soon as you join the Theocracy. Just type overlord discord in google and you'll find the link in wikia in google. Once on the channel just type ".Iam theocracy" and you'll get access to ALL "fanfics" of overlord both present and future. Please join us we have the people of sky there as well and also the great Nigel himself (just don't message them unless they're already in chat okay?) we also have games, quests, ranks, PVP battles, music and adventurer teams all in YGGDRASIL style with a lovely albedo AI taking care of you! And updates and new features every week! What more could you want?**

 **Pssst btw if you join discord and become theocracy I'll be sure to give early access of all my work to all who join…**

 **Just pm me there fanfic scribe and I'll put you on the list.**

 **Anyways the shameless promoting is now over! Moving on!**

 **That's all that I wanted to say for now. I'll try to keep chapters at a weekly release of about 5000 or more words and sometime in the future I'll release a commemorative fanfic that I've been working on for some time. But for now plz like and follow and as always…**

 **Burn in hell Yen Press and…**

 **Glory to AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


	2. Chapter 1 part 1

Chapter 1: Setting forth to the Dragon Kingdom

It was another sunny day in E-Rantel. It was hard to describe what the citizens felt when they saw a beautiful day like this. On one hand it was usually a good reason to be in good spirit when the sky was as seemless as today. But for the citizens of E-Rantel it was with mixed feelings that they watched as above their capital there was not a single cloud to be seen but around the city in the distance one could clearly see that rainclouds were hovering around them.

Astounding!

That was the only word that the citizens could think of as they saw time and time again the depth of their new ruler's power. Even the weather was but a plaything to him.

Ainz Ooal Gown, better known as the Sorcerer King that rules over the Sorcerous Kingdom. This being that had forcefully taken over their city by practically slaughtering half of the Re-Estize's active military force, was now "peacefully" ruling over them.

In truth there was only one reason why those that hadn't run already still wouldn't do so even after seeing their new lord in person and his monstrous power. Even if starvation was all that awaited them in other cities after seeing that "thing" they still would have run for the hills.

If Momon hadn't been here as well that is.

Without their protector who boasted that he could take down even Ainz Ooal Gown in his face watching over the citizens they truly would have fallen into despair by now. Without the unrivaled hero Momon sacrificing everything and even abandoning his own freedom for the sake of the citizens they truly would have probably fallen into despair by now.

Not the least bit because their new ruler seemed to understand how truly frightening he was.

Patrols that before had been conducted by stern but friendly squads of city guards were now conducted by monstrosities referred to as Death Knights that were said to have been made by the Sorcerer King himself. Dark armored Knights that have been rumored to prey on the living and most of all they enjoy slaughtering children and bathing in their blood.

Administrative affairs are now being conducted by the undead lords of legends called Elder Liches. There was more than one story told by old women to frighten little children about how those Elder Liches would come like a plague in the night and take them to their castle or lair where they would be turned into their undead servants. Not to mention how many great adventurer teams throughout the years had fallen victim to the schemes and vile magic of Elder Liches. Now all of a sudden those horrors were in charge of managing taxes and legislative documents. How ridiculous was that.

If one could thing had to be named about the new "staff" that their lord had employed to manage the city one would have to reluctantly say the new mounts and work cattle that they had been given. The so-called Soul Eaters that some had said were the cause of the death of hundreds of thousands all in all made good replacements for horses. They never tired and could pull entire carts loaded up to the brim with cargo by themselves. They never tired and would work without stopping or need of refreshments.

Merchants could be said to be the most jubilant about this new arrangement. This way they could deliver their goods much faster and for a much cheaper price since transportation was always such a costly business. Compared to before, the Sorcerer King charged a fraction of what they would spend on their steeds. And now with the new arrangement with the Empire and even with some small trade with the new dwarf merchants their treasure chests were quickly filling due to the increase in profits.

The merchants speculated that it would not be long before word of this lucrative arrangement would spread to the Kingdom and the Empire and would attract back some of the old and even new merchants who would brave the danger and come to E-Rantel looking for their fortune. Especially the Empire. With the rumored vassalage that would likely soon be enforced trade between the two nations would explode and with the exotic dwarven products that could only be found here in E-Rantel it was easy to see that the financial future of this nation was looking up for the time being.

And what of their lord? The exalted King, the feared King, the horrendous King, the monstrous king? What title could you give to someone who had slaughtered thousands without a facial expression? What plans could swirl in the mind of someone who no longer had a brain? What could be the thoughts of someone with such power?

"…ah what a pain!"

Ainz sitting in his office felt like his life had become a déjà vu at this point. The rut of his day was so monotone and repetitive that it was no longer even laughable. Even during his days as an office goon he was not buried in endless stacks of paperwork like this. He knew that as the CEO of a company it was both expected that you worked harder than anyone else in the company but also that everyone would understand if you had some privileges as the boss. However Ainz could never be like the black hearted CEOs that had driven his friend Herohero-san into depression and bad health. But this was still ridiculous!

 _To think that my trip to the dwarven kingdom would cause so much work to pile up. I suppose I thought that Albedo would take care of most things and she did but so much requires my personal attention… what the hell is this?_

Ainz almost felt like screaming out those words as he quietly looked over at the maid sitting over in the corner. Once again the endless repeating loop of his day involved getting followed around by one of these homunculi maids. Then he would complete his tasks after getting dressed and after hours upon hours of paperwork he would return to his room to either read, practice his poses and regal bearing or just relax with his thoughts in silence…

At this point just about any kind of news or change would liven his sullen spirits.

His problems and worries were as numerous right now as the stars he had seen up in the sky that fateful night when he first arrived. Back then it was such a sight but now a comparison to how much things required his attention.

"relocation of the dwarven runesmiths to Carne village along with food supplies and further logistical aid, relocation of 10000 Quagoa along with conduct of experiments, managing the new dragon transportation services, construction of the training grounds for the new adventurer teams as well as supplies, armor, weapons. Also even E-Rantel and of course Nazarick still require my personal attention with a number of points… does it ever end?"

This much even Ainz could not stop himself from muttering out loud. This caused the maid that had been sitting at his side to perk up.

"Is there something the matter Ainz-sama?"

The one who asked this was a white haired maid with silvery eyes that looked at Ainz with immense kindness and deep passion. This was Luna another homunculi maid that was serving Ainz today.

"No… just thinking out loud, let it not bother you."

"What are you saying Ainz-sama? How could it not bother me when our lord and master is in distress? Please feel free to tell me if there is anything at all that I can do to help you. No matter what I will gladly oblige!"

"Umu, that's good to hear. Well then I will be in your care if anything happens.

Ainz had already gotten used to this attitude since long ago and after much practice he could maintain his image of a noble ruler even whilst under pressure by comments such as this from his staff but that did not make life much easier for him all the same.

 _Still to think that the Horn of the Goblin General that I gave to Enri Emmott on a whim would actually possess such a marvelous power. Although to us it is still a simple matter to kill them all but what if the horn has the power to summon forth even more soldiers? Could the same power be used again and what is the secret behind it?_

The matter of Carne Village had peeked his interest. At first he had only read summary reports made by Lupusregina and not been able to divert his attention due to the matter of recruiting adventurers from the Empire and his latest trip to the dwarven kingdom. But now that he had looked over the full reports again he had become wholly entranced by the idea that such a seemingly useless item had a crazy power like this. This opened a wide door of possibilities for the future.

Albedo and Lupusregina had taken care of the matter of food and housing for the goblins in Carne for while he was gone which was already quite good. But with humans, goblins and ogres now living together in one place hand in hand it brought his dream of uniting all species under one banner that much closer. In the future Carne would become an important reference point for how well this idea would function so for now it was important to keep a close eye on it.

With some luck Carne would one day be the heart of his new empire. A metropolis of races from all corners of the globe coming together and living in peace under Nazarick's rule.

"A perfect world…huh."

Saying those worlds Ainz often remembered the words of Touch Me-san and Blue Planet-san as they talked about those things sometimes in the guild back in the day.

Ainz's world after all was in complete shambles compared to this one. Pollution, economic uncertainty and civil unrest were things one would find virtually everywhere in the world back in his world. Japan had been more or less spared from the worst but was far from one of the best places on earth to live. The man Suzuki Satoru had been lucky to even find a job and get by. It was just how bad things were.

So it was no surprise that Touch Me and Blue Planet who was a huge environmental fanatic often had conversations about how the world could be better…perfect even.

And now Ainz had been given an opportunity to make their shared dream come true. In other words to create a perfect world.

 _When did I first have this notion I wonder?_

Ainz could not help but ask as it was quite curious how he got from finding his comrades in this world to finding who brainwashed Shalltear to eventually thinking about uniting the whole world under his banner. He felt like the owner of a multinational company thinking about how he got from having a small shop on a corner to going global. Not that he had ever known how being a CEO felt like before now.

But still…

The image of this so-called perfect world kept swirling around in his head like a fly. He could not resist imagining it if only vaguely.

A world where humans, elves, orcs and even heteromorphic creatures where walking or even slithering through the streets of one giant city. Chatting, their children playing together, some of them even holding hands together. And above them through the sky soared dragons and other flying creatures. Some of them delivering goods whilst others were just stretching their wings.

Such a world, how long would it be before he could bring forth this kind of place? Decades? Centuries?

Ainz could not help but ponder this.

"There is still a lot of work to be done…"

 _Come to think of it shouldn't there have been reports of diplomatic contacts? I mean the prime minister back in Japan was often seen meeting with foreign ambassadors and the like. Maybe the fact that I'm a skeleton deters the other nations from making contact too easily…_

That notion ran through Ainz's bony head as he considered this. His biggest problem right now was that the reach of his intelligence stretched far too short for him to be considered knowledgeable of the current geographical situation of the countries around and beyond his own.

All that he knew off was that Re-Estize was to the west along with Holy Kingdom where Demiurge was working now as well as the mysterious Agrand Council in the North-West. To the east was the Baharuth Empire along with the City State Alliance and some dragon riding tribes in the south. In the south there was the Theocracy which Ainz had subconsciously been avoiding for now. From what he had heard they were a human centered culture that had a high aversion to non-humans, thus establishing good relations with them was probably out of the question. In time he would probably have to make a move on them but for now he kept his distance. Besides that there should also be a country called the Dragon Kingdom ruled by the descendant of a Dragon Lord.

It was a laughable amount of Intel that made Ainz feel ashamed of how he was running his affairs. All this time he had been here and yet he still knew pitifully little about the world he was in. not to mention that there was still the possibility of a player hiding somewhere plotting against him. It was enough to make his head spin in anger and shame.

But the weird thing was that if he knew at least of these nations than surely they must know of him by now. The Empire and Re-Estize Kingdom aside, none of the other forces had come up to his doorstep to at least try and establish relations with him.

 _Should I ask Albedo about this, although it may be just really my appearance that keeps them at bay… but what if it isn't though? In the future when Nazarick expands even further there will be a need for good relationships with all races who serve under us._

Ainz decided to toss aside his act of unreadable boss for a second and contacted Albedo with a spell.

"Ah! Ainz-sama is that you? You honor me with your call my liege!"

Albedo's elated voice rang through Ainz's head as he reached her.

"No need for the formalities Albedo. I just require your assistance with a small matter."

"No problem at all Ainz-sama! Just give me the word and I will instantly be there by your side to…"

Hearing the overly excited speech from Albedo, Ainz almost felt regret that he asked. But he decided to stay strong and interrupted her passionate monologue.

"Ah… no Albedo I just require an explanation about why even though we've established ourselves as a nation for a while now, we still have yet to have any form of diplomatic meetings with neighboring countries that don't include the Kingdom or the Empire."

"Ooh…"

Albedo almost sounded disappointed by Ainz's question which made him worry if he had just asked an incredibly dumb thing and ruined his image of a perfect ruler by mistake.

"there were indeed a few lower life forms who had come to request a meeting with you in the past but seeing as we currently aren't involved with taking over their countries it is right now of no use to us to meet with them so I had some of our men show them the door."

…or not. Instantly all of his worries about breaking his image were shattered but instead replaced by his realization that once again Ainz had underestimated his follower's hatred of humans. Which had now caused this problem. All kinds of emotions and thoughts swirled up inside him

"That's not acceptable Albedo! Even though for now we aren't involved with them there is no harm in establishing at least basic relations with other countries. Who knows if one day in the future it may prove of some value to already have a connection with those other nations? You mustn't let such thinking stand in the way of opportunity!"

"My sincerest apologies Ainz-sama! Thank you for showing this useless subordinate her errors!"

Albedo's voice had taken a 180 degree turn as she sensed her master's dissatisfaction through the spell. Ainz even felt somewhat guilty about his outburst as Albedo's words in one way held some sense but from his perspective where humans were not as useless as the rest of Nazarick thought it was worth at least giving diplomacy and conversation a chance rather than ruling it out in the first place.

"It's fine if you understand. With Demiurge's plan not due for a few months we still have plenty of time managing a couple of encounters and meetings with some of the other nations. Well then let me ask again, are there any dignitaries or emissaries that would like to have a meeting with me right now?"

Albedo went silent for a second before she finally responded as if suddenly remembering something.

"Aah indeed Ainz-sama! There is such a human or rather such an insect that still refuses to leave and keeps asking for an audience with you even though we as a nation had made it abundantly clear that we weren't interested."

"Ooh?" hearing this Ainz perked up a bit. For a human to not cower away even when the likes of Albedo chased him off… it almost made him a bit interested in this fellow.

"I believe he said he was from a place called the Dragon Kingdom or something the like. A rat hole of a country somewhere in the East."

Even now there was still a clear trace of derision in Albedo's voice as she spoke of this person that dared to go against her orders even though he came from such a weak species such as the human race. Ainz however decided to ignore her comments and ended the spell after finishing his talk with Albedo.

"Luna, send a message to Falvius that he must invite this human from the Dragon Kingdom into my chambers here in E-Rantel. I will meet with this man or woman and any time that he or she chooses. Tell him I said that."

The maid bowed as she left to find the Elder Lich known as Flavius who by Ainz's decree was put in charge of matters regarding diplomacy. By now he was probably squashed beneath work regarding the submission of the Empire. But since there was not a backup for matters such as this Ainz still had Luna send a message from him.

 _The dragon Kingdom huh? Should be interesting…_

From what Fluder had told Ainz their monarch was a descendant of a Dragon Lord like the one that Ainz had killed back in the dwarven mountain range. If so she should not be anything too interesting but what piqued his curiosity was the rumor that this queen was capable of using a magic outside of the ten tier system from YGGDRASIL. In other words another anomaly of this world, one that left even Ainz wanting to learn more about it.

Perhaps it was time that while he waited for Demiurge in the holy Kingdom he should make a trip to the Dragon Kingdom and see for himself. Just what this supposed separate system of magic is.

 **AA: just a regular overlord chapter 1, as with the real thing nothing too special. Anyways thank you to all that already joined discord. You've been a great addition and again all are welcome to join the discord and as usual get one day early access if you join theocracy.**

 **This chapter was a bit late due to a scheduling mistake on my part and one busy beta so during the weekend you'll probably get part 2.**

 **But for now and as always.**

 **Burn in hell Yen Press and…**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


	3. Chapter 1 part 2

**Chapter 1 Part 2:**

The man looked dejectedly out of the window as he gazed into the distance, not really paying attention to anything in particular. Perhaps he should just go home, he wondered…

He quickly had to dismiss the notion, however, as he knew too well why it was that he could not do so, why it was that he had come to this literally godforsaken city in the first place.

The man shifted his gaze from the empty sky to the streets of the city where he now was. The people of E-Rantel seemed to somehow get along with their day. Even some of the merchants seemed to be in an overly excited mood as it was clear that business was going well for them lately. Some of them shouted loudly, announcing how they were selling rare and precious goods from Bahruth and even some who were selling off dwarven craft.

People smiled, men bargained, women gossiped, and children ran through the streets playing. It would almost be the iconic picture of an ordinary city from any envoy's perspective… until you started paying a little more attention that was.

Through the streets walked not just the merchants and city folk, but also dark humanoid creatures that blended nicely with the shadows they would usually stand in. One would likely miss their presence if he didn't know of their existence beforehand. These creatures emitted a fearsome aura that was aligned with the pitch-black spiky armor that they wore to arouse fear in the hearts of men.

"Death Knights as city patrol… preposterous…"

The man sighed to himself as he continued skimming the streets with his eyes looking for more characters that were out of place. Sure enough, he soon saw a hooded figure walking with a book and some scrolls with another Death Knight walking a few steps behind him. This was one of the Elder Liches who were now acting as tax collectors and bureaucrats while the future human bureaucrats were still in training, preparing to take over.

"Lords of the undead cities reduced to collecting petty wages from commoners…"

Each of these undead by themselves would warrant an entire party of at least Mythril ranked adventurers to come and take them down. And the Death Knight behind them could take down small armies and rampage through cities by themselves. And yet now they…

The man could not help but shake his head like he had done many times since coming here. He averted his gaze from the window as he felt he would lose some of his sanity if he kept watching this spectacle.

The man had blond-tinted brownish hair which he had not cut for a while so it flowed a bit over his eyes. He had deep blue eyes that seemed to contain no special warmth or kindness but instead held a kind of wisdom that was hard to find. He wore a respectable set of brown clothes that, although were nowhere near the type usually worn by nobility, were still not what commoners would usually end up wearing.

Cifon Dale Turon Barbes, the great envoy sent here from the Dragon Kingdom. Or at least that was what his official position was. In truth he was a man that could be said to be the most unwanted man inside the Draconic Kingdom, and that he was merely sent here for the sake of having someone be here inside the Sorcerous Kingdom to monitor the situation

Cifon the plague as he was known back home. It wasn't that he had a bad personality or was exceptionally dumb. It was just that he was incredibly unfortunate as a man despite being born first son of a respectable noble, which was before the beastmen decided to invade.

His lands and most of his family were all lost to him before he could do anything. He saw most of it too. It wasn't that he survived due to being somewhere else when the invasion began; he was there on the front line when he fought on his late father's side to hold back the incoming beastmen and give the inhabitants of his father's hamlet time to escape deeper into their lands away from the beastmen. His own dear father decided to sacrifice himself and the last of his men at the very end of the battle in order to give Cifon and his brothers a chance to get away. Unfortunately, they were still beset by beastmen whilst escaping, after which Cifon and only one of his personal guards managed to survive.

This tragedy alone would not have been enough to earn him a label of "plague", but over the last few years every single castle and residence that had been kind enough to take him in eventually found itself destroyed. The beastmen invasion moved ever further into the Dragon Kingdom with no chance of stopping anytime soon, so it was no surprise that many castles and towns would fall victim, but these were not modern times. People need to have an explanation that is more fair than "that's simply war" to justify all the loss and pain.

And it wasn't that Cifon was a noble like any other either. If you talked long enough to him you would easily notice one clear feature about him. He had absolutely no emotion whatsoever; if he felt things like fear and happiness or sadness then he sure as hell didn't show it either. This would make jokes or say silly things and mimic the tone of someone who was happy or angry but the charade would quickly be seen through. He was truly a man who felt nothing, not even at the sight of his family and friends killed. Not even that could force him to feel the least bit of anger at the beastmen or grief for his fallen comrades.

Cifon had always been like this. Ever since he could remember he had felt no joy and even his father said he had never smiled as a baby. Instead, he had always had an expression on his face "detached" from the world. A trait that allowed him to always keep his intentions hidden, remain calm no matter the situation, and make level-headed decisions. This is what allowed him to survive that horrid battle in the first place. But all this did not do him any good in the eyes of paranoid and desperate people whose fears had already began to swallow them whole.

And so silently but swiftly people began to gossip about Cifon, about the idea that he was the cause of all their grief, that wherever he went misfortune would follow. That with a fixed and unmoving expression he would watch as the people around him burned and screamed in agony.

He should feel something, anything; when treated like this any other man would lose his composure, but to him it felt as though nothing had changed; whether he was with his family or jeered at by people and called a plague… he felt nothing at all.

The situation had declined to such a point that even a minister was alerted to this problem. After having heard Cifon's side of the story, he could only shake his head at the simplicity of the masses and took pity on him. Not the least bit because he had known his father and they could be said to have been friends for a time. So Cifon was made an envoy and sent out of the country to the Sorcerous Kingdom in order to request aide against the beastmen invasion.

The whole plan was laughable to say the least. The whole trip was nothing more than an excuse to get him out of the country and away from the beastmen. The situation in the Dragon Kingdom had already declined to such a point that it was impossible to say whether or not there would even be a Dragon Kingdom in a couple of months.

Him being sent here as an envoy was the minister's pity towards the last son of an old friend of his. Considering that he was sent to the Sorcerous Kingdom of all places meant that all the other spots had long since been filled by more influential nobles who arranged for friends and family to leave the kingdom until the war was over. The Sorcerous Kingdom had simply been vacant because no fool would ever send their loved ones to a place where an undead ruled over the masses.

But why was he even still here? Why did he still live at all? More than a few men would have given up on life by now. The loss of all they held dear and ostracized by their entire nation would send anyone into a grieving frenzy. The taking of one's own life would have been understandable, so why?

Cifon himself had asked this question in his own mind many times and always come up with the same answer.

 _Death is boring…_

That same thought had been swirling inside his mind for some time. To a man such as him who found life to be incapable of arousing any form of excitement, pleasure, anger or any other kind of reaction, it would seem a strange response. But to him who felt no emotional pain, life was just boring but death was even duller still.

His only goal in life was to find something that could arouse a feeling inside of him. Something to break through the monotony of existence. Even if there was nothing exceptionally good about the fact that he was alive, he still considered death to be infinitely worse in its unmoving silence.

He had hoped that meeting with the rumored lord of the undead would arouse some form of reaction or sensation within him, but for the all the times he had tried to establish contact with the Sorcerous Kingdom he was always met with either a closed door or sometimes one of the elder liches would greet him and tell him that their lord is unavailable. So far the closest he had ever gotten was a single short meeting with the ice cold beauty called Albedo.

Even her outlandish appearance and body that could be likened to something made by the gods could not provoke a reaction. But her demeanor towards him at least was a little bit interesting as she looked at him like someone would look at not another human but at a dumb animal or perhaps even less than that. She had tried to conceal it with a charming smile but he could see through it as someone who had long since tried to mimic human expressions to blend in with the world. This woman was colder than an ice dragon's breath, and anything she said he could not take at face value.

She had told him very clearly that he should just give up on meeting with the Sorcerer King and that the Sorcerous Kingdom would not be making any form of contact with the Dragon Kingdom. This was before Cifon even had the chance of asking for assistance against the beastmen invasion or offering any kind of compensation.

Considering all this Cifon pondered on what to do next…

 _Staying here is only an indefinite option; the minister gave us a good amount of money in case negotiations drew out, but at this rate we'll be broke before we even get to see the king's face._

Cifon's gaze wandered to one of the two beds on which there was currently sleeping a middle-aged man whose snoring could only be described as ear-deafening. The man was stout and a bit bulky, although that may have just been because of his muscles. He had wild black hair that was starting to show a little grey, and his skin was a bit more tanned than usual. Around his neck hung a little gold plate that was already worn out with the years and shook with every snore that the man made.

This was the bodyguard that had saved Cifon's life after they had been ambushed by beastmen. Cifon had seen it himself how one man had taken down twelve beastmen by himself, even though just one was many times stronger than any ordinary warrior. He said it was because of his past as an adventurer, but not even a gold ranked adventurer should have been able to take down five beastmen by himself, let alone twelve. And yet it was thanks to him that he was now alive.

He said he didn't have a family name and went only by "Rog", but two things he knew for certain. This man was far from an ordinary adventurer and he was the only one in this world that Cifon could call a friend…

After considering it for a while, he decided not to let the man sleep any longer and shook him by the shoulder as hard as he could or else he would simply keep sleeping.

Finally coming to his senses, the man sprung up and lazily opened his mouth but not before letting out a giant yawn.

"Aaaah…, mmh what's the matter, young lord? Did you finally get summoned by the Sorcerer King and decide you need me there to act as your shield?"

Cifon's face remained as still as always but he adjusted his tone to a more amused setting as he responded.

"I wish you wouldn't make such jokes the first thing after you wake up, Rog-san."

The burly man grinned after which he finally took on a more serious look.

"Then what's the matter?"

Cifon was silent for a bit before finally responded in his usual voice once more.

"We are heading back to the Dragon Kingdom…"

Rog looked at Cifon for a while, trying to gauge his intentions, before sighing a bit inwardly and responding.

"Hah… young lord. You know I'll follow you anywhere from this place, but… right now your country is in grave danger. The latest news from those merchants in the Empire is that the situation has deteriorated to the point that Sibil is the last city before the capital yet to be conquered by the beastmen. If that's true then by now they might have already started moving on the capital or even worse. This place may not be the right place to stay seeing that there's Death Knights everywhere, but we can still flee to the Slane Theocracy or the Baharuth Empire or perhaps the Kingdom. Someone with your knowledge will always find some kind of job, and as for me I can always make a living as a guard or just do hard labor."

Rog rattled on as he named every conceivable argument that he could think off to change his master's mind. Or rather his friend's mind.

It's not that him protecting Cifon wasn't for the money, but he still owed a debt of gratitude to his father as well. However, as a former adventurer, to stay in a city with this many powerful undead would be a problem for his health in more ways than one. But thinking about going back to a place where beastmen may very well become the new dominant species in a matter of weeks… was nothing but a fool's dream.

Cifon likewise had been weighing his options; he fully understood the implications of returning back to the kingdom, but going to some unknown country and starting over there while the rest of his country was massacred just didn't sit right with him. It wasn't that he felt guilt at all, but he felt it was improper to run away from calamity like cowards; it was something unbefitting of nobles who were tasked with guarding the realm. At least that much his father had hammered into him before he passed.

If they didn't leave now, the money they had left wouldn't cover the trip back.

Just as he was about to try and convince his protector, a faint knock came from the door.

Cifon and Rog both stared at the door of their room as if they had seen a ghost. Well, one of them at least; Cifon still had the same expression.

"Could it be?"

Cifon inwardly considered who of the few people that knew that this was their resting place in E-Rantel could come here. None of them seemed all that likely; perhaps it was just the innkeeper, but why would he come to their room?

Cifon abandoned all other thoughts as he walked to the door and opened it slowly only to see the incarnation of dread standing behind it wearing a black robe and hood over its head and face to conceal the fact that it had no face to speak of.

"Elder Lich!"

Rog almost sounded like a madman and jumped off the bed and tumbled towards his armor and weapons on the other side of the room. If he could just get his hands on his mace, he could do serious damage to even an elder lich since it did bludgeoning damage.

Having grabbed his mace, he charged at the Lich only to be blocked by Cifon who stopped him with both hands until he snapped out of his frenzy.

Having finally calmed down and come to his senses, a look of lucidity returned to Rog's eyes as he spoke, trying not to pant.

"…ah…forgive me, that was just my old habits… just my reflexes kicking in."

The elder lich seemed to have ignored the spectacle and shifted its gaze from Rog back to Cifon.

Cifon had already recognized this lich. To most men those undead may all look the same, but Cifon could memorize things to a fine detail. He had always had a strange memory like that. He could remember things that at the time he thought he was not paying attention to. And like now it had allowed him to recognize that this was Flavius, the undead in charge of managing foreign affairs for the most part. This was the lich that had turned down his request for an audience with the king every time

"The supreme one has ordained that he wishes to have a meeting with the representative of the Dragon Kingdom. That would be you, Cifon-san. You may exclusively choose any time or date to your liking, and the king has stated that he will oblige you. If you would be so kind as to tell me if you can already say when would be such an occasion, I would be most obliged on behalf of the Supreme One."

Usually to refer to a noble or an envoy as "san" would be giving a bit too little face to an envoy, but these undead were hardly the type to take things such as face into consideration and the fact that they used "san" when addressing humans was already unseen in all of history.

But Cifon could hardly have such trivial thoughts as finally he had received permission to meet with their king and what's more he was allowed to choose the date. This was completely against protocol!

Usually a monarch would decide when to meet with envoys if ever at all. To do it at the envoy's leisure was absurd.

"Then would tomorrow at noon be agreeable to his majesty?"

Cifon could barely squeeze out the words as he asked. It wasn't that he was scared or baffled; he wasn't capable of feeling such things. He was merely considering whether this was a test from the Sorcerer King of some sort. If he asked for an outlandish meeting period, he might never get a chance for a meeting, or maybe the king wished to see if he would actually have the courage to demand such a meeting point. He decided to play it safe.

The lich made a slight bow and turned to leave after saying a last few words.

"I shall inform Ainz-sama of your decision. Then you will be expected in his office here in E-Rantel tomorrow."

The words were cold and sounded like they came from another world, but they delivered the same message. The king had finally decided to meet with Cifon for whatever reason and would receive him tomorrow at noon.

Cifon almost wanted to go and chase the lich and ask what the protocols and ceremonies for meeting were. Was it a lunch? Did the king even eat in the first place? But there were so many things to figure out before a meeting. What was he supposed to wear? How did he need to address the king? He felt like he truly was meeting someone who wasn't human for the first time. This undead had clearly no experience meeting with foreign dignitaries before, or was this his style to rule over all those who came to visit him and make them dance according to his pace?

The ideas flowed into Cifon's head as he decided it was best to now just start preparing for the diplomatic meeting tomorrow.

Having put his thoughts in order, his gaze returned to Rog who was still staring at the door with incredibly cold eyes and seemed entranced by the sight he had just seen.

Normally anyone who saw a high level undead speaking in a polite tone and handling things like diplomatic affairs would have his hairs stand on end, but Rog was still different. It was like a deep hate inside of him boiled up when he saw that lich, alongside intense pain.

"Are you all right?"

Cifon asked as he walked past Rog towards the wardrobe and started picking out his clothes for tomorrow's meeting.

"Huh? Ah yes that is to say… sorry. As an adventurer, those things aren't something I can accept seeing right in front of me and not acting on reflex."

Cifon didn't seem perturbed and continued arranging his clothes.

Rog finally couldn't take it and sat down back on the bed. After a long pause, he finally spoke again.

"Sorry young master, but I don't think I can go with you tomorrow. If that king is as they say he is, I won't be able to keep my calm."

Cifon would normally imitate other humans and give an understanding smile at this point, but he himself was still too much in thought to respond properly and simply emitted a slight "umu" sound as he continued to prepare his attire.

"Do you think he is finally willing to negotiate with the Dragon Kingdom?"

Rog was well aware of why exactly they had come here and had no illusions about the odds of their mission succeeding, but the fact that they had been given a chance to meet with him was already a success in a way.

"I don't know."

He said as he was still mulling over his outfit. To him it didn't matter whether the Sorcerer King had or hadn't decided to suddenly meet with him. The fact remained that the possibility of them accomplishing their goals was almost non-existent.

From now it was all up to the gods, or perhaps it was up to just one god… namely the god of death which had seemingly decided to send its incarnation into this world.

"Ainz Ooal Gown, perhaps…" murmured Cifon.

"Perhaps meeting you will finally allow me to feel something, if only that something is the fear of death…"

 **AA: technically it's still Sunday SOMEWHERE is the world right now as I'm posting this so I didn't lie this time about release date!**

 **That said another week, another chapter! As usual big thanks to my beta for clearing it for me of abominable spelling mistakes.**

 **So this chapter like I said overlord chapter 1 tends to be a warmup chapter with lots of exposition to set you up for the rest of the volume which is why lots of backstory and tedious talking is inbound… plz bear with me and I promise It'll get better in the next chapters. Have a lot of fun things instore for you on this one. Nyehehehe…**

 **As usual, those who join discord and join theocracy get 1 day early access to all my stories, but trust me there's sooo many fun things to do on our channel that you'll forget about my stories in an instant! We have an Albedo AI bot of all things! So come and join, you won't regret it!**

 **But for now and as always.**

 **Burn in hell Yen Press!**

 **And**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


	4. Chapter 1 part 3

**Chapter 1 part 3**

The next day arrived rather quickly as a quiet night in E-Rantel passed and was replaced by the break of dawn and swiftly moved into a sunny midday.

In truth, Cifon was unsure whether this sunny weather was due to the summer season or the mysterious magic that he had heard that the king could use to alter nature itself.

In truth, there were many things that at this point he was unsure of.

Normally. envoys from another country would come in droves and not one with one guard. The envoys, once accepted, would be given a schedule and information about the exact ritual of proceedings, order of business, and even sometimes a list of political and cultural principles that must not be offended at any cost. Not to mention religious beliefs. Usually, this would be accompanied with a feast or dinner at the palace where things would be discussed over pleasantries. And then later there would be a formal debate on issues such as possible future trade, relations, and even prospects of alliance and or further friendly ties…

That was how it was supposed to happen, at least.

There was zero semblance to this situation, or at least that was how Cifon thought about it.

All he had done was make a formal meeting with one of the king's bureaucrats and even been allowed to pick a date and time himself. On top of that, he was now standing in the hall outside of his office like a fool with almost no idea what to say and exactly zero idea on how to behave.

There was the fact that the Dragon Kingdom had very little wealth left; even peasants on the streets knew that. Because of that, all positions of envoys had been bought by other nobles instead of appointed by the queen as was custom. The Sorcerous Kingdom's infamy was the only reason why he could come here by himself.

But still, this would make for one awkward meeting if it was to be treated as a diplomatic greeting.

 _Perhaps it would be best if I treat this as a regular meeting as a foreign dignitary meeting with a country's monarch? But would the king take offense to that? By the dragon lord, there's just not enough information._

In the Dragon Kingdom, unlike most of the other human nations, there was not a practice of worshipping the six gods or even the four gods from the empire. Instead, they prayed to the Brightness Dragon Lord. In the old verbal traditions, it was said that the Brightness Dragon Lord had once driven away the hordes of beastmen and had taken a human to be his queen. How and why was obscured, but it remained a fact that his bloodline still served as the nation's monarch and their people revered him as their god.

Cifon himself had always believed that dragons were the closest that people would find to gods on the physical plane of existence. Since he chose to believe in what he could see, he chose to likewise believe in the Dragon God, until he had come to the Sorcerous Kingdom, that was…

Over the last few days, his sanity, but even more so, his faith, had been questioned as he had seen with his own eyes dragons flying through the sky with bags of cargo on their backs. Their riders were undead and living, and presumably were used to keep the dragons in check.

But to see the creatures of legend that his nation had turned into an object of worship now used as flying cargo wagons.

 _Maybe Ainz Ooal Gown was the real god…_

At least, that was what Cifon thought about it. Calling him a mere undead at this point was far too crude of a statement anyway.

At last, the time for the meeting had come, and a beautiful maid walked out of the king's office. She had long green hair with some of it flowing over one of her eyes, giving her a mysterious look. She was a true top grade beauty that no one could compare to so far as Cifon knew.

If Cifon had any emotions, he would have no doubt been infatuated by such beauty, but he had long since discovered that although the act of copulating itself was not distasteful to him, it did not bring him any real pleasure to speak of rather than simple "satisfaction". The emotion of love was as foreign to him as disgust. He had firmly reached this conclusion when his dear late father had gifted him a prostitute when he came of age.

Choosing to ignore this issue, he firmly made up his mind as stepped into the room and prepared to face Ainz Ooal Gown in person.

 _This doesn't feel right, after all._

As Ainz was looking at himself in the mirror, he couldn't help but think that once again his maids had dressed him up in a ridiculous fashion. Today's robe was in a lavishly dark purple that was not unlike his usual black gown in design and style but radiated a more mystical than ominous look. Since he was meeting an envoy today, he had to look the part, but also not scare him witless from the get-go.

Combined with the purple robe was a not regular gold, but instead black gold crown with several crimson rubies embedded into it.

His maid for the day, Eve, had chosen this outfit for him and the corresponding jewelry to wear with it. Besides his crown, she had selected an azure cross scepter that had ethereal wisps orbiting the cross at the peak like tiny moons around a planet. She said that it would be sure to inspire awe from any man seeing him for the first time. As usual, his fashion sense seemed off in this world. He had gotten used to it by now, but he still felt anxious.

Especially now that the meeting was close to starting, it gnawed at Ainz's mind more and more. Last time he did something like this it was rehearsed when the Empire came to visit him in Nazarick, but now he was on foreign ground. Moreover, he had only a name from Albedo and a time and date from Flavius. Besides that, there was nothing more he knew about this Cifon from the Dragon Kingdom…

Deciding there was no use crying over spilled milk, he took his place on the throne that he had brought over from Nazarick and gestured to Eve that she should let in the envoy. He was still organizing his thoughts on how this meeting would proceed exactly, but it was now too late to just say "please come back later".

The door opened and in walked a simple looking man. There was no other way to describe him. He was wearing a slightly dark brown set of clothes that Ainz assumed were all the latest fashion in the Dragon Kingdom, and looked overall like an ordinary man from this world as there were so many.

"Presenting Cifon Dale Turon Barbes from the Dragon Kingdom."

Ainz noticed how the man quietly but stiffly walked in with his eyes trying not to stare at Ainz as he watched him. The most surprising thing was that unlike any man that Ainz had met before, this man showed no reaction when he first saw him. It was like his face, like Ainz's when he played Momon, was an illusion.

Not the slightest twitch was visible within his eyes when he saw the skeleton gaze of Ainz. It was so unprecedented that Ainz started to suspect that maybe this man had seen an Overlord before. Maybe this man was even somehow related to the player that had ambushed Shalltear. That would explain why he did not cower away from even Albedo's fury. If he had the backing of a powerful player then that would explain his behavior.

 _Looks like I'd better keep my guard up._

Cifon took careful footsteps into the room as he followed deftly behind the beautiful maid. The moment he saw Ainz sitting alone on his throne, he grew even more confused about what to do than he already was.

Where were his bodyguards? Where were his advisers? Did he honestly simply intend to have this meeting by himself? How should he adapt to this scenario? Too many questions spun inside of his brain to get a clear grip on his thoughts. The last thing in his mind right now was the fact that even seeing this personification of death was not enough to draw out any emotion from him whatsoever.

Perhaps he was already accustomed to undead, or perhaps they would never have been enough to draw out a reaction, but he could only feel a cold air emanating from this creature that called himself "king".

The more important thing was the fact that he had no idea how to proceed from this point on. The usual procedures had been thrown out the window.

Not sure on how to approach, Cifon decided to first take a bow before the King as he had to be courteous no matter what. After the courteous greeting, the king regally waved his hand that he should approach him. This gesture alone made it very clear that this monarch was one that had long since been a ruler of thousands. But he could not help but think that the king's motions were a bit too practiced; maybe it was just his imagination.

Having stopped about five steps from Ainz, Cifon knelt down before him. At first he was unsure whether to kneel or to kowtow, but such an act was usually only reserved for one's own monarch whereas kneeling was a sign of respect to the monarch of a foreign nation or a lord.

Once he had taken the rightful position, he had to wait for the monarch to speak first as was custom. Only then could Cifon be allowed to make his case. Seeing that he had gotten this far, he had to abandon his doubts and just try to execute his mission. To be negligent now would be an insult to all the people of his Nation that he hoped against hope could be saved with the help of this monster.

"I welcome you, esteemed emissary Cifon Dale Turon Barbes-done. I am Ainz Ooal Gown, Lord of Nazarick and King of the Sorcerous Kingdom."

Cifon was surprised how a king said to be a maniacal monster could actually present such a polite and noble tone, albeit with a strong sense of superiority.

"…eh, umu. That is to say, thank you for accepting me, your majesty. This lowly servant from the Dragon Kingdom is eternally grateful."

Cifon once again questioned his usually sharp eyes as he was unsure whether or not he imagined the king making a slight nod after his statement.

"Well then, I'm deeply sorry for setting up such a haphazard meeting, but I was informed of your resolution and unwavering insistence on meeting me and thus decided to make an exception and free up my busy schedule. I hope you understand and forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive, your majesty. Nothing at all. The fact that one such as me is deemed worthy of your time is already a blessing beyond compare."

Cifon didn't know whether pleasantries were to this king's liking or not but could vaguely sense that it fell on deaf ears with him. As a king there was more than one instance where monarchs would grow tired of the lip service from their advisors and demand honest but not rude speech.

"It is fine. Well then, since you've come all this way why not tell me what it is that you've been so anxious to discuss? I doubt that you would have been so insisting just to establish simple diplomatic relations with us."

 _The rumors were true after all, this one is a lot smarter than most monarchs. He's already seen through me. I have to appeal now with everything I have._

"Yes, your majesty!"

Cifon took out a rolled up scroll from his coat and some paperweights that he deftly used to spread out the scroll in front of his majesty. As he had done so, he began his rehearsed speech.

"On this map, your majesty, is the layout of the territory of my birth, the once renowned Dragon Kingdom. I have travelled here with the express purpose of asking your majesty for an extensive favor that is so shameful to my nation that we should lose the right of calling ourselves that for just asking it."

At this point Cifon clasped his hands and bowed his head towards Ainz once again.

"Please save our nation?"

If Cifon had looked up, he would have seen a slight flickering in the crimson lights in Ainz's skull, but no real reaction to speak off. A total poker face that surpassed even his own.

"Interesting, could you please explain what exactly it is that threatens your nation so much?"

Cifon looked up once more as he was unsure if he had just heard the king not flat out denying him but giving him a chance to explain his ridiculous request. As an undead, he should have a hatred for the living and therefore despise any action to save other living creatures. That was why Cifon had asked him if he would even think about "helping" without specifying to check if this was true or not.

 _It seems there is still a fraction of a chance._

"Then… permit me to explain. The Dragon kingdom together with the City State Alliance is on the frontier of the eastern part of the human world. As such, we are neighbors with a demi-human race we commonly refer to as beastmen that live to the southeast of us. Before, we were able to keep them at bay, with occasional raids on our outer villages as the worst of the problems that we had with them. But now they've apparently set their minds on conquering the entire human world and turning us into their food source."

Throughout all of this, the king had remained eerily silent as if unbothered by the horror of the events at all, but that was to be expected. Cifon himself on the other hand was the strange one for not feeling anything at the thought of his countrymen dying by the thousands. The only reason that he was doing this was that he thought it was unfair that he should live whilst everyone else died. If he could do something to save his nation, he would not for patriotism but for simple human decency.

"Then let me ask of you, esteemed emissary, what do you wish for me to do about it? Do not misunderstand. I understand your concerns, but what does it have to do with me? These creatures are invading your nation, but ours isn't even a neighbor so let me ask you, what does it have to do with me?"

Cifon inhaled deeply as he knew that it was do or die at this point.

"We know that it is much to ask, but with your power simply driving away a horde of beastmen should be an easy task that our nation would be more grateful for than you can imagine. Even if it is swearing allegiance like the empire in exchange, I'm sure a compromise can be reached. Please, our nation's capital is already on the brink of being attacked as well. I beg of you…"

At this point the King became rather quiet. It was like he was the only being in the universe. The maid standing next to him was as silent as a statue as well. It was almost unbearable to Cifon who was feeling the weight of his entire nation on his shoulders and that their fate may depend on the next few words spoken by this undead.

"I'll think about it…"

….

"Hah?"

Cifon could not believe that in the end he had made such a crucial mistake and had said something as uncouth as "hah" in front of the king. If he could feel fear or shame, he would have died from it by now.

"I said I'll think about it, emissary-dono. I will give you my answer in one or perhaps two days. Please stay here in E-Rantel as I make up my decision. Do not get any false ideas, I'm merely entertaining the notion in my head, and no matter the circumstance there will be a severe price to pay for my aid, but I will first think it over before making a final judgement. Until then, you are excused."

Hearing this, Cifon felt something deep, deep inside of him that could be compared to relief if anything but did not have time to notice. He firmly clasped his hands and bowed once more to Ainz before taking his leave as he was shown out by Eve whilst still in trance.

"Huhu… interesting. There are still many things that I need an answer to, but I feel that I would be wasting my time with that man. For now, I'll go over it step by step."

"Ainz-sama?"

The maid heard the muttering of her master, and unsure whether it was directed at her, she could not help but ask.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Eve, I'm just thinking aloud. For now, prepare some refreshments and get some help to restore the office to its original state. I need to entertain some guests."

The maid bowed and left to accomplish her tasks as Ainz stared at the map that Cifon had left behind in his haste. Although he couldn't read it, he clearly understood that he was looking at the Dragon Kingdom and its neighboring countries.

"Perhaps it is time that I take up an old role for this one."

 **AA: well here we are again. i hope this chapter will come as relief for what can only be described as a crazy week. sorry if this chapter feels rushed i had to rewrite a large part due to realizing waaaay too late that i was digging myself a grave that i couldn't get out of. anyways we still have a bit to go for chapter 1 and then hopefully i can get started on the much more interesting chapter 2. with in this chapter we will have a lot more screentime for MY personal favorite characters. look forward to it!**

 **but for now and as always…**

 **Burn in hell Yen Press!**

 **And**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


	5. Chapter 1 part 4

**Chapter 1 part 4**

Ainz was still looking at the map left behind by Cifon when a faint knocking sound came from the door. After giving a quick nod to the maid, she went to open it with almost a spring in her step.

"Ainz-sama, Albedo-sama is here to see you." After showing Albedo in, the maid left the room herself as she was not qualified to hear the conversation between them.

Ainz looked up as he saw the alluring figure of Albedo walking in and swiftly bowing to her lord.

"Glad you could make it, Albedo, sorry to trouble you like this all the time but I have some matters I need you to give me your opinion on."

"Not at all, Ainz-sama, as long as it pleases you I'm always at your disposal for anything you may ask… anything."

"Eh… umu, well then I need your opinion on the matter of the Dragon Kingdom."

At this point Albedo's complexion turned serious from her usual elated, demure self.

"Dragon Kingdom? Ainz-sama, you can't possibly have agreed to that lower lifeforms' proposal to help those pitiful creatures from the beastmen."

"I understand your concern, Albedo, but this course of action is necessary from a different point of view. It is because this course reaps a double benefit that I'm thinking about going forward with it."

Albedo briefly glanced at the Map on Ainz's desk as she finally spoke.

"You mean the matter of Momon?"

"Yes."

Momon was the persona that Ainz had used to subjugate E-Rantel without bloody suppression or fear. Thanks to his silly little idea of posing as an adventurer, he had unknowingly created the perfect hero to lead the people from E-Rantel under the guise of their protector against the undead, and sure enough it had worked perfectly like Demiurge had expected it would.

But now a new problem had come up.

With all the work and affairs that Ainz had to manage, there was little to no possibility to properly continue posing as Momon unless he left everything administrative to Albedo. Since Demiurge was unavailable, that meant a Sisyphus-labor level of work that no self-respecting CEO would ever leave to his executives to manage whilst he slacked off. Ainz simply wouldn't know how to face Albedo if he forced her to do all the work whilst he played adventurer. Pandora's actor was also not an option; doubling as Ainz was fine, but he wouldn't be able to pull off posing as Momon without drawing suspicion, Ainz was sure.

"Momon is what keeps E-Rantel from mounting a resistance against the Sorcerer King, but with the days passing and life for the inhabitants of E-Rantel improving, the need for his presence will fade as time goes on. Now is the moment to remove Momon from the picture and start building a foundation of trust towards Nazarick instead."

Albedo stared at her master silently with an unfathomable glint in her eyes. Not even demiurge would've been able to tell what was going on in her head at this very moment.

"Why the Dragon Kingdom?"

The crimson glow in Ainz's eyes dimmed as he lifted his head. That was a surprising thing to ask of Albedo, who should have already been able to have grasped the plans and thoughts of someone like him.

"Hmm, that is a rather strange thing to ask. We have already spread our reach through most of our neighbours, and besides the Slane Theocracy we no longer have any neighboring countries we need to worry about. Using Momon as a means to scout out further is the safest course of action."

"That is not what I meant, Ainz-sama. Of course I understand your logic, but why waste such an opportunity on the Dragon Kingdom? If I remember the ramblings of that worm, then the Dragon Kingdom should be a ruined land with a ruined future. Why not let these so called beastmen devour all the humans?"

 _Because I don't desire to see them all slaughtered…_

As if Ainz could say such a thing.

Now that he was a lich, he no longer possessed the qualifications to sympathize with the human race. It wasn't like the connection between him and humans was completely gone, but to call it nothing more than a lingering sentiment wouldn't be far off from the truth.

And still, the reason that he chose to try and aid the Dragon Kingdom would be called a whim or perhaps an impulse solely due to whatever was left of his humanity, but it was not like he could tell Albedo this. Not when all of Nazarick had already construed such an image of him being an immortal god.

He would kill anyone for the sake of Nazarick if need be, but this was merely an act of mercy towards the humans.

"I have my reasons, Albedo, instead why not focus on the other matter…"

"I understand Ainz-sama, then if you'll allow me."

Ainz gave a quick but firm nod as he inwardly rejoiced at managing to skip over this topic. Albedo's blind loyalty was useful to have at times, even though he always felt bad about tricking her by abusing it.

"Well then, Ainz-sama, I am pleased to report that we have, through the connections of the Eight Fingers in the kingdom, found a rather interesting morsel of information regarding the possibility of there still being other Supreme Beings in this world. The matter pertains to a certain flying city in the south. According to the 8 arms, it is the source of goods not found anywhere else in the world except for one place."

"And what place might that be?" Ainz asked as he wondered what Albedo was getting at.

"My, Ainz-sama. You're making me say such obvious things to taunt me, huhu." Albedo coldly chuckled as she spoke.

 _No, I'm honestly asking you where else those special goods can be found._ These were Ainz's most inner thoughts right now.

"Naturally it's Nazarick. Special blades, crafts of unimaginable finesse and even clothes that can't be reproduced by any human tailors; all of these are items that appear to come from another world. Except that we have similar items right here in Nazarick. I already confirmed this by showing a few examples to the executives of the 8 fingers who went crazy when they saw them. Such simple fools. I think it would be in our best interest to go and investigate this city."

"Umu, it is quite obvious indeed."

 _For someone like you that is…_

After spending some time in contemplation, Ainz finally spoke up again.

"Very well then, Albedo, once the bureaucratic affairs of managing E-Rantel and Nazarick have stabilized, I give you permission to go out and investigate this city with the aforementioned team that we have prepared for such an occasion."

"My thanks, Ainz-sama."

There was a short silence afterwards as Albedo obviously still had questions about her master's plans and its specifics, but had to wait for her master to give her permission to speak before she could inquire any further.

Ainz, on the other hand, took this time to prepare himself mentally for the verbal confrontation with Albedo where he would be forced to keep up the guise of the "perfect leader" that she had of him.

"There is still something you want to ask?" Ainz finally spoke.

"Yes, Ainz-sama, it is about your escort to this new kingdom. You can hardly expect me to agree that just you and Nabe going alone into unknown territory with unknown threats lurking around is a good idea."

"Don't worry, Albedo, I'll be taking along two level 90 tank NPCs from the fourth floor with me as a means of covering my escape if need be. And also, I won't be leaving without a floor guardian to play the role of Nazarick's representative…"

At this moment a small knocking sound came from the other side of the door just as Ainz was speaking. Since the maid had been dismissed for the time being there was no one to let in this new person.

"Hmm… perfect timing. Enter!"

The door slowly opened as a small creature walked in with small, cautious steps. A little elf child carrying a large wooden staff walked into the room. Its ears drooped as the fear in its heart was palpable.

"G-greetings, Ainz-sama…"

Although Ainz had no face to speak of, it almost seemed like he was smiling as he greeted Mare who had walked into the room timidly.

"Glad you could make it, Mare. I trust the training grounds for the adventurers are finished."

Hearing this, Mare's ears finally perked up as he excitedly responded.

"Ah yes, Ainz-sama, the labyrinth is finally complete and ready to be used as a training ground for adventurers. D-did I do good?"

Albedo gave a slight smile as she responded in Ainz's stead.

"You did excellent, Mare. I'm sure Ainz-sama is very pleased with you."

Seeing Mare all smiles, Ainz chose to say no more about this topic and instead focused his attention on the matter at hand.

"Mare, I was wondering if you would like to go on a mission with me to the Dragon Kingdom? To spread the influence of Nazarick, your power would be an excellent way of subduing the beastmen."

"Yes! That is to say… if Ainz-sama wills it, I'm willing to go anywhere with you. But is that all right? With just me? I fear that I alone might be insufficient support."

"Don't worry; we're taking some other NPCs with us to act as shields in case something goes awry, but you yourself are already a walking arsenal of magic power. You should have a bit more faith in your abilities."

Hearing his lord praising him, the lights in Mare's eyes seemed to shine even more.

"Ainz-sama, I will then be getting ready for the preparations of the other matter we discussed. If you'll excuse me."

Albedo made a slight bow as she left with the look on her face impossible to see for Ainz. He had a feeling that she did not have her usual expression right now, but couldn't place when he had felt like this before. That feeling of something somewhere going very, very wrong.

 _Well, it's no matter. As long as she does her job as she always does, I have to keep up my image of a haughty but compassionate ruler._

"So then, Ainz-sama, will we be leaving now?" Mare asked after Albedo had finally left the room.

"No, first I will have to settle things with Ainzach to clear Momon, and then I'll have to talk some minor things over with that envoy from the Dragon Kingdom, but from what I've heard the situation there is quite dire, so we'd best leave in a couple of days at the most."

"If we are going to an unknown territory, shouldn't we bring along my sister, too?"

To this, Ainz simply chuckled as he calmly shook his head.

"Aura is preparing the adventurers and further training the dragons right now. She has her hands full. None of the guardians besides you and maybe Shalltear are available, but I want her to stay behind on this one. The ones coming with us on this mission will be just you, Nabe, and Hamsuke."

Having listened to his lord's speech, Mare showed a quiet understanding as he bowed and likewise left the room afterwards.

 **AA: I know I'm being terrible with giving you all just a small part of the chapter when I just had a hiatus, but life's getting hectic and I'm also doing a separate project for the guys in discord… hehe. As always, all are welcome there, and trust me, you won't regret joining up. And anyone who wants early access to March of the Forsaken only needs to check the prologue.**


	6. chapter 2 part 1

**Chapter 2: Gathering the last hope**

"Uuugh…"

The muffled grunt reverberated through the room as the man woke. The sounds of clattering armor and shouting men just outside of his window had roused him from his deep slumber.

The searing headache finally piercing through his head caused him to unwillingly lift his upper body from the bed.

"Fuck, what in the name of the Six did I drink last night?"

As the man got up, the covers of the bed slid off of his torso and revealed a muscular, robust body riddled with scars and old wounds from beast and weapon alike. If not for these mutilations, it would be a chest that women would marvel at for certain.

But the man that this body belonged to had no interest in "women".

Cerabrate still had sand in his eyes as he rubbed his eyelids with his palms and tried to regain some semblance of awareness.

"Ara?"

Having opened his eyes for the first time, he finally got a look at his surroundings and realized he had woken up in his private room located in the capital's finest inn. This was his de-facto residence as he did not have a real home to speak of but enjoyed spending time in an inn like this where ale was plenty and willing and rowdy adventurers to drink with were even more bountiful.

Waking up here after a heavy night of drinking was nothing unusual, but his surprise came from seeing a little creature sitting in the corner of the room.

"Who are you?"

The question was neither too stern nor too kind and carried no emotion to speak of as Cerabrate addressed the little girl in his room.

The child quivered as if it had been electrocuted and with almost dead green eyes looked at Cerabrate. She had no clothes on herself and had draped her body in what Cerabrate guessed were the clothes he wore yesterday. Her face was battered and her blonde hair ragged and wild. There were even traces of blood on her body and on the floor around her.

Cerabrate could guess what had happened, but paid it no heed and simply called out once more.

"I asked you a question."

The sterner tone in his voice caused an even stronger reaction as the girl shook even harder, but this time finally responded.

"Yes, my… lord. I'm Temhi… we met last night."

Cerabrate searched his memories for the events of last night and this girl but could not find a single clue as to how he had met this girl or what had happened.

"Why are you still here?"

Cerabrate slowly began to stand up from the bed as he tried to keep his hangover under control. The thought of alcohol made even him want to vomit right now. His mood worsened with every step he took as he made his way to the closet next to his bed where his clothes were.

"You told me to stay…"

Cerabrate almost blinked in surprise as he turned his tired gaze back to the girl.

"What did you say?"

The girl began to shiver again as the question's tone almost seemed to petrify her very flesh and turn her heart to ice.

"Your Lordship told me to stay overnight after you were done with me, your lordship… said that you would kill me before I'd made it down the stairs if I tried to leave before you gave me permission to do so, that's why..."

The voice seemed to be just a slight shiver away from bursting into tears as the blonde girl's eyes reddened every second. It was apparent that the great pain she was enduring had taken its toll and holding out any longer might prove impossible.

"Out."

Cerabrate had barely finished saying the word as the girl darted out the room as fast she could, not realizing that the clothes that she had draped herself with had come off during her jumpstart. All Cerabrate saw was a glimpse of a bare body dashing out through the door of his room with nothing but dried streams of blood covering the lines of her body. A horrifying sight, but to him it was something he had already seen thrice in his life, and only one of those was during a mission.

With the girl gone, he could finally let go of his "dignified persona" and revert back to his usual self as an extremely annoyed expression appeared on his face. His muscular body dropped its upright pose and slumped to his usual stance as he began to boorishly rummage through his closet looking for some decent fresh clothes all the while cursing in different tongues.

"Gods f*cking damn it! When will I ever learn that drinking and fun don't go together! % #* each and every time I try drinking and having some fun with a cute girl I end up losing all my memories and have a raging hangover the next day! Ah, how is life so unfair to me who always strives to protect humanity in the name of the Six Gods! Ah, God of Light have thou too forsaken me?"

Cerabrate the Fierce Flash. A man that hailed from the Slane Theocracy initially and was once a devout soldier well on his way to becoming a seeded member of the famous Black Scripture. The reason why he had fled the Theocracy remained unclear to this day. Some said that he desired fame and wealth more than pious servitude to the Six Gods and the nation. Others heard rumors about him falling out with one of the archbishops over a disagreement about which of the Six Gods had the most splendor. The real reason was far less pretty.

This man was a pedophile and a complete disgrace to the very concept of 'holiness'. There are those in this world that are born into a land of faith and serve despite having wicked hearts, and the Theocracy is no different. What separates Cerabrate is that his true nature was only revealed almost the day before his baptism as one of the new members of the Black Scripture. He was a person who truly understood the concept of being indispensable and so he worked tirelessly and trained himself to become strong enough to turn the rules upside down and live in a world that could condemn him but not convict him due to his strength.

Who would have guessed that the one time were he would lose his head and attack a girl unprepared would be when he would encounter the youngest niece of the Pontifex himself…

"Come to think of it, ever since then I've always been attracted to blonde girls, haven't I? She was, after all, the only prey that got away in my entire life."

A vicious smile ran across his face as he vividly recalled her screaming face. Her pretty little eyes in tears as was tearing off her dress.

 _God of Light have mercy. If it wasn't for that stupid handmaiden catching us and calling the guards a breath before I could kill her, than I would have gotten to enjoy the finest gem in the lands… well, perhaps I should say second finest._

The image of a petite meek girl appeared in his mind as a smile turned to a grimace of almost maniacal proportions on his face.

"Once I become the hero that saved this nation from the Beastmen invasion, I will demand that little queen give me some good service."

In truth, if it had been any other situation, he would have migrated like so many citizens had when the beastmen invaded, but the thought of playing with that exquisite gem of a body that the queen possessed made him want to stay. Even if he had to risk his life against an army of beastmen, the price was worth it if he could be allowed to have his way with such a cute doll.

"Cerabrate-sama, are you awake?"

A faint male voice rang from outside the room that pulled him back to reality.

"Ah, yes, I've just gotten dressed; come in."

The door slowly opened as a robust man walked in with a tired expression on his face. He wasn't old enough yet to be called an old man, but the grey hairs that had started to form on his head told a different story. He wore a mixture of armor and leather as was so common for adventurers, and every step contained traces of martial arts, faint as they may be. Around his neck, strangely enough, hung not an adamantite tag, but a mythril one that one could clearly see had been made long ago.

"You look awful, Kaleb; you should know by now that at your age drinking is something best done in moderation."

Cerabrate merely teased the man as he noticed his weary eyes. He himself was not in a much more favorable spot as he had trouble just smiling through his raging headache.

"Same goes for you, Cerabrate-sama. Your love for alcohol is only matched by your intolerance of it."

If it was anyone else in this world, then Cerabrate might have taken offense, but this man was one of his teammates and the one person that understood and accepted his philosophy of life.

Naturally, he knew who Cerabrate had spent the night with, but in his view how can saving humanity be weighed against his perverted acts? Where would the citizens of the Dragon Kingdom be without its only Adamantite team? Although, he of course did not approve of pedophilia and it had taken him a long time to look Cerabrate in the eyes again; what kind of look would he give to the people that will die without an Adamantite adventurer to save them? Without him, who knew what the future of this entire country will hold?

It all came down to just as Cerabrate had concluded all those years ago: making oneself indispensable. As long as he was humanity's shield, then no one would care what he did to entertain himself on the side. That girl he slept with yesterday might have been the innkeeper's daughter for all he knew, but even if she was, he would still be greeted with a smile by the man when he came down the stairs in a minute. Of this, he was sure.

"The others are waiting for you downstairs. Unlike us they don't have a hangover, so it's best not to let them wait."

Cerabrate just about finished putting on the last pieces of his armor as he nodded that he would be down in a second. Contrary to the usual outfits of adventurers who wore brown or green clothing to blend with the environment, his armor and leather was mostly dyed silver or white; he even wore a white silk cape draped over his shoulders with a holy symbol stitched onto it. Making him appear like the epitome of human sanctity was something Cerabrate had long since learned worked miracles on the masses, but this wasn't the real reason he wore these clothes.

Unlike him, his other teammates were quite subpar warriors, so this was the best way he could think of to lure monsters to him with flashy colors. After all, Cerabrate wasn't an Adamantite adventurer just for show . His skills were the real deal, but he was only unbeatable as long as he had the support of his team that provided him with backup from a safe distance.

The two adventurers left the room and walked down the stairs of the inn as they were greeted by various gazes from both other adventurers and knights who watched them with various expressions. Apparently, word of what had transpired yesterday night had already spread to all the adventurers in the inn and maybe even the entire city. Or perhaps they had just seen the naked girl running down the stairs.

Cerabrate couldn't care less as he lazily averted his gaze to the place where his teammates were sitting.

In one of the booths of the inn that was in the corner, sat three other figures that looked at Cerabrate with struggling emotions. This latest escapade from their leader was not the first time that something like this happened, and they guessed it would not be the last, but they, too, felt that a despicable guardian of the human race was better than none at all, so they pretended they didn't see anything.

Cerabrate and Kaleb finally arrived at the table and each sat in a chair as they all waited for someone to break the awkward silence that loomed over them.

"Boss, we have received orders from the palace and the guild. We are to head to the palace for a gathering of adventurers and then head over straight to the frontline city of Sibil for a last-ditch effort to stop the beastmen from advancing on the capital. It seems that the kingdom has received some reinforcements of adventurers from some other nations that they want to use for some grand plan. That's all I know."

The one who spoke was a man clad completely in black robes with a myriad of religious symbols and relics strapped to his body, all attached to him through links of a small chain that spun around his entire attire like an iron snake.

Six-pointed crosses from Slane, a silver dragon skull from the Dragon Kingdom, demonic pagan symbols and dolls and even a small skull all draped around his body as it became unclear whether this person was a holy man or heretic. This was the priest of the team, and the reason why Cerabrate was unfazed even when fighting forces dozens larger than his own.

"When did the order come through, Berus?"

"Just before sunrise. I was thinking of waking you guys early, but knowing you it would've been pointless."

Everyone including Cerabrate let out a small laugh as they heard the priest's response. This man was the only one amongst them that refused to drink, and as such was the one who kept guard over the rest as they got drunk and would notify them in case anything went wrong.

"Do we know who else is coming to Sibil? Don't tell me the loli-queen actually found a way to hire Optics to help out."

On the other side of the table sat a young man who looked like he was not even halfway his twenties. He wore a much lighter set of leather armor than the others and didn't carry any large swords or shields. The only thing imposing or peculiar about him was the splendidly curved bow beside him that seemed to be a blend of both metal and wood as its intricate design clearly showed great craftsmanship.

This youth doubled as both the scout and the ranger of the team, and was during battles in charge of covering Cerabrate's back during fights. A man only had one pair of eyes, after all, and even an Adamantite adventurer would not be able to observe every little thing around and especially behind him unless he had the rare [detect] skill that Brain Unglaus possessed.

"Oi, Gerhardt, this is serious! Keep your dumb remarks out of this."

Kaleb couldn't help but exclaim as the youth's casual attitude about life and death situations obviously enraged him.

"It's not Optics; from what I gather it's adventurers and elite troops from neighboring countries that have come out to help."

Berus's face was never quite visible from beneath that black cape he wore over his head, but the others got a sense of danger from his words as if these reinforcements were somehow bad news.

"Any specifics?"

This time, even Cerabrate, who was still nursing his headache, couldn't help but ask as even he felt that Berus's tone was far too grim for such normally positive news.

Hearing the question, Berus couldn't help but sigh slightly as he shook his head and finally answered.

"Surprisingly, a few dozen adventurers from the Baharuth Empire have come, although I'm told they aren't higher than gold ranks. As for the rest, that's where it gets tricky. It seems the Slane Theocracy has sent over a handful of troops to back up the Dragon Kingdom. I'm sure you know what that means."

"The Six Scriptures…"

A both nervous and slightly enraged reply came from the corner of the booth that they were sitting in as the person that sat in the darkest place finally decided to speak.

The one to respond was the only one of the group that thus far had remained quiet. He was a truly strange man that seemed as if he had lived in the woods all his life. Even compared to Berus, this man was extraordinary, as he wore not robes or armor but tanned hides all over his body. Even more bizarre were the necklaces of animal parts that hung around his body. Even so, his face was the most bizarre of all, as despite being only in his thirties, the man looked like he was already more than seventy years old with wrinkles warts and pustules covering his entire complexion. And even things that appeared to be mushrooms grew on his nose and on his almost completely bald head.

Horrifying, it was the only word to describe him with if one met him at first. But the more one got to know him, the more one would warm up to him, which was quite strange considering his looks. It was as if you could feel a certain warmth when being near him.

Cerabrate looked at the man with a complex expression and sighed as he responded.

"I see you're just as eager as I am to see them again, Vaughn. However, I sincerely doubt that they would send those monsters from Black. If anything, I'll be surprised if it's not those stuck up bastards from Light."

Kaleb and Gerhardt couldn't help but reveal slightly troubled looks as they knew all too well that their leader and Vaughn had a long history with Slane, but kept many things about it to themselves. For example, the specific levels of skill and abilities of the rumored Six Scriptures were one of those things.

"Don't worry, you lot. As long as it's not those freaks from the Black Scripture, we'll be fine. Besides, if they could have come after me, they would have done so long ago. I'm sure by now they've all long since forgotten me."

What Cerabrate said he knew was only half true. If Slane could have sent men after him and spared the resources to chase after one disgraced disaster, they would have. But he was just one man who had not been initiated into the secrets of the order and had only been able to get away with one item from their treasury which wasn't even one of their most sacred.

Between the war with the elves and the situation with the Dragon Lord as well as the traitors Clementine and Zuranon, they just couldn't spare the men to go after Cerabrate. Especially now…

But that did not mean in the least that they and particularly the Pontiff had forgotten about him. Quite the contrary.

"Ah, by the way, Berus. Is there anybody else coming? If it's just those freaks, it's already bad enough, but it's not comforting to think that it's just them and us."

Berus slightly paused before answering, as he so often did when he had trouble saying something. This man was quite gifted in killing, but a poor person to have a conversation with.

"There was one other group of adventurers that will be coming according to the information. Though, it's from a place I've never heard of before. It's from a place called the Sorcerous Kingdom, and they're sending an adamantite adventurer team called Darkness along with a royal emissary to help out with the war."

"Darkness?"

Gerhardt couldn't help but exclaim as he heard the name and visibly twitched a bit.

"You know them?" Kaleb asked in a surprised voice as he had likewise never heard of Darkness, nor where in the world the Sorcerous Kingdom was located.

"Ah, well, know them is a bit of a stretch; I've just heard stories about them. Unlike you guys that feel it's unnecessary to keep in touch with other adventurer teams and on the lookout for future rivals, I've been keeping tabs on most of the promising adventurers in the human kingdoms, and Darkness sticks out a lot lately."

"Oho, well then do be so kind as to inform this old bag of bones who they are and what this 'Sorcerous Kingdom' is that Berus spoke off."

Hearing Vaughn refer to himself as a bag of old bones was quite comical, all things considering. But everyone felt curious about this new adamantite team now.

Gerhardt looked over as if to make sure that no one was listening and quietly began speaking in a tone that made sure no one but them would hear.

"Apparently, there has been a major change happening right in the center of the human world. Not too long ago, a fearsome undead by the name of Ainz Ooal Gown participated in a war against the Re-Estize Kingdom with the Baharuth Empire. The result was that the kingdom lost half of the men that it sent to the field alongside its fortress city of E-Rantel, which now belongs to that very same undead. That part of the world is now referred to as the Sorcerous Kingdom, and its leader is called the Sorcerer King. The weirder part is that, according to my sources, it turns out that the Empire right now is in the middle of being turned into a vassal state. Darkness's role in this story is that when E-Rantel was just conquered by this undead, the leader of the team offered himself up as a pawn for this undead in exchange for the safety of its inhabitants."

The other four looked at Gerhardt, not knowing what to say as they listened to this tale with baited breath. If this was true, then it could shake the very foundations of the human world. But there were so many unbelievable details that it was hard to make out how much was true and how much was false.

"What an idiot."

The one to speak out was finally Cerabrate, who could endure it no longer to listen to such a story.

"If that last part is even remotely true, then that leader is truly the epitome of foolishness. First off, what idiot goes and makes deals with non-humans, even more so if they're undead? We adventurers understand better than anyone that the undeads' hatred of the living makes cooperation nothing but a fleeting dream. Truly idiotic. Your information must be wrong, Gerhardt; it's the only logical conclusion…"

Gerhardt stared silently at his drink for a few moments before he somberly spoke up which was unusual for his character.

"Three times…"

Cerabrate perked up a bit after hearing the response.

"Three times what?"

"Three times the information that my sources have given me has saved my life. That woman cannot be underestimated in terms of information brokering. Three times now, I've gambled with my life and relied on her intel to save me, and so far she has never let me down. I'm willing to stake my life that what I just told you is true, or I wouldn't have told you this in the first place."

Gerhardt took a gulp of the mead he had ordered earlier before speaking once more with a determined face.

"The story of the Sorcerous Kingdom is real, and so is the story of Darkness. I know for a fact that their leader is a warrior wielding two great swords and clad in pitch-black armor, and that they have a beautiful mage on their team that is said to be capable of wielding at least third tier spells. From what I understand, they are to date the fastest team to ever get the adamantite tag in Re-Estize's history, and are renowned for fighting beasts that even we would have to thoroughly prepare against if we wanted to kill such creatures."

Cerabrate could not help but look slightly more convinced at Gerhardt's words, but still held some suspicion in his heart as he sighed still sore from the hangover.

"Haah fine, let's say that what you say is real: that only brings me back to my earlier point. That guy is legitimately an idiot. If we have to cooperate on the battlefield, then he is sure to be nothing but a burden. The only silver lining is that he will most likely get ripped apart by the beastmen soon."

A slightly cruel glint shone in his eyes as he spoke, which almost seemed to turn the room a few degrees colder than before. The other adventurers from his team could only shake their heads at this. Unlike him, they weren't as cruel or cold as Cerabrate, but them being on the same team was unavoidable since the Kingdom's elite basically consisted of the five individuals placed around this table.

"Well, since it can't be helped, we'll just go and see this person for ourselves. Whether he's an idiot with no common sense, or just some made up hero from a backwater nation… huhu, I'm most interested to find out. My mood is even somewhat better now."

Cerabrate stood up and left with his companions as they made their way from the inn to the castle, not realizing that a faint figure had been watching them and listening in on everything from the shadows.

 **AA: Guess who's back? That's right itsa mee AinzOoalGo! Exams are over and I am ready to bury you guys in overlord content. Let's do this thang! Also, if the guy that described Light's downfall on reddit as "the classic of the classics" reads this, plz note I have aged 5 decades since reading that and am now a gray-haired old codger who wonders why my grandkids won't visit me anymore. ;-p**

 **So anyways what you guys think about pedo-adventurer san? In the LN if we ever see him I suspect it will be a lot tamer than this, but this is MY story, so to hell with that. Wiki says he's a pedo, so a pedo he shall be!**

 **heard that Overlord got delayed until August which both sucks and is awesome since it will give me time to write this story to the end. And i'll get to continue Lodos in the summer.**

 **But anyways, might have another part coming up soon. But for now and as always…**

 **Burn in hell Yen Press and.**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


	7. chapter 2 part 2

**Chapter 2 part 2:**

All throughout the capital, the clamor of armor and weapons was audible as knights and soldiers from all around the city gathered up. Most of these were just militia that had been haphazardly put together to combat the beastmen invasion, but a good 10,000 trained warriors and a couple hundred adventurers had been put together to go and reinforce the frontier city of Sibil.

The Dragon Kingdom was slowly starting to rely on its last reserves to get by. The amount of victims that this bloody invasion had claimed had already surpassed the mere thousands as reports of villages and towns from all across the southern and the eastern part of the land came in talking about small groups of beastmen ranging from 50 to 500 attacking them and hunting down any and all who might flee like animals.

Although the government had already figured as much, it now became more and more clear that this was not a mere gathering of supplies, but a full scale purge of all humans from what the beastmen now most likely considered their land.

Such was the price to pay as a nation of humans that lived on the borders of the human realm. There was always a danger of demi-humans who lust for human flesh to come and try to harvest them all. Hundreds of men and even women had been deployed to the front already, and as such there were quite a few houses in the capital that stood completely empty at this moment.

In one such house, there loomed an eerie silence in the room as eight figures sat in black robes. Some were sitting around the fireplace warming their hands at the dancing flames whilst others were sitting around the table quietly eating something and one other cloaked figure was even lying on the sofa seemingly sleeping like a log.

This group of people did not remain so silent because they had nothing to say, but because they were on the alert for hidden enemies. Too many times had they encountered situations where only the slightest sound had betrayed the existence of looming threats that otherwise would have had the drop on them.

This silence was finally broken by the sound of a faint series of rhythmic knocks on the door. As soon as the knocks were heard, seven of the eight figures immediately rose to their feet. Even though the knocks corresponded with the password that they had agreed on, it was still never a full proof method of distinguishing friend from foe. The only one that remained unmoved was the figure lying on the couch as his deep slumber seemed unperturbed.

Finally, one of the figures approached the door and vigilantly opened it with one hand whilst the other was clutching at his waist, ready to draw a concealed weapon if need be.

The door opened, and a hooded figure draped in the same black robes appeared before the group. Behind the dark veil of the robe, the visage of a middle-aged woman was visible, who likewise looked at the other robed figures with a suspicious gaze. However, as soon as she saw that one of them was still lying on the couch, her eyes softened as she quietly spoke.

"The Six Gods guide us, their light is our life. Stand down, brothers. Maria has completed her mission."

That's right. The only group in the Dragon Kingdom that could spy on an Adamantite adventurer right now in its current state were the auxiliary retired members of the Black Scripture. All of these figures were once seated members of the Black Scripture that one way or another had managed to survive each of the horrific missions that they had been sent on or had died and been revived but were unable to regain the strength required to classify as a member of the Black Scripture.

To prevent the destruction of the Dragon Kingdom, this new unit was hastily put together from old-timers and retired veterans and ironically dubbed "the Phoenix Ash Scripture" as to symbolize the dying firebird that rises again from the ashes. Though, it was an annoyance to its members to be labeled as such.

Hearing Maria's words, the other figures relaxed as they knew that although the secret knock might have been discovered, the password was something that they had agreed on before leaving the Theocracy. The chances of the enemy finding this out were nil. They has been continuously deploying measures that prevented surveillance and observation-magic. Due to this, they were all but certain that the person before them was definitely the person they had sent out to spy on Cerabrate.

"So? How is that piece of thrash doing?" One of the other figures finally asked after Maria had entered the room.

There was no domineering tone in his voice as technically all of the members here were equals. They all used to be members of mostly the Black Scripture but also the Windflower Scripture that Maria belonged to, so there was no need to act superior.

"Same story. Just last night he had his fun with some poor little child. It took me quite a lot of self-control not to kill him as he was lying in his bed whilst that girl silently wept in the corner," she said with a visibly livid expression.

"Don't. If killing that piece of thrash was so simple, then we would have done it before he had even escaped from the Theocracy. But in an age where every single person of talent is necessary to combat the threat of monsters, we cannot afford to kill him as long as he does what he was trained to do."

The man solemnly sat down in one of the chairs in the room as did most of the other figures before the woman continued her report. There was, after all, much to discuss and little time to do so.

"Cerabrate, as well as that repulsive geezer he has teamed up with, is an eyesore, but during this mission we will have to cooperate if we wish to resolve the situation with as little casualties as possible."

"Hold on, Brent! Even if Cerabrate is off limits, that doesn't mean we have to cooperate with them, right? We have our own plan to attack the beastmen ready. We shouldn't be wasting time playing adventurers with that filth."

Another man chimed in as he, too, seemed to be itching to kill Cerabrate. He had still been a member of the Black Scripture when Cerabrate was supposed to join, and he, too, had been fooled by the prospect of such a genius joining the group. To see someone with such potential become so depraved was a slap in the face he was still unwilling to forget.

"I understand your concern, but these were the orders that the Pontiff himself gave us. He of all people would be the first to authorize the death of Cerabrate if he felt it was possible. More importantly, did spying on them confirm the piece of information that we received earlier?"

Maria nodded her head in response to this question as she knew what information Brent was referring to.

"Their group received the same message as we did, so it should be true. It seems the adventurer known as Momon is going to come to the Dragon Kingdom."

Although the expressions of the other members of the group were concealed behind the hoods of their robes, it was still evident that hearing this was anything but good news to them.

Momon was one of the figures that the Archbishops had qualified as an entity at the same level of importance to observe as the Sorcerer King, the Demon Jaldabaoth, and the rogue vampire that had killed two members of the Black Scripture as well as Lady Kaire.

The fact was that this was simply above their level.

"Damn! Why out of all the adventurers that had to show up did it have to be that guy? If things turn bad and we unintentionally make an enemy out of Momon, it will be all of our asses!"

One of the men could not help but let out a curse as he had come here to kill Beastmen and save civilians. Dealing with matters related to the safety of the state were beyond what he had signed up for.

"Don't forget that the relationship between the Sorcerer King and Momon is still unclear as of now. If Momon turns out to be in cahoots with the Sorcerer King, that would be truly bad."

Although these men were no longer part of the Black Scripture they were still well-informed regarding these matters as one never knew when the need to spring back into action arose. As such, they were aware of the position that the church had on Momon and Ainz Ooal Gown, and did not wish to be entangled in such matters that even the Black Scripture would be hesitant about.

"Black…swordsman… Momon."

At this moment, a faint voice travelled through the room that thoroughly shook the seven other figures to their core as they all got out of their seats and knelt down as soon as they heard this voice.

The person that thus far had been lying on the couch and had remained soundly asleep had just spoken a few simple words but had caused the entire conversation to freeze to a halt.

"Good morning, Tristan-sama." A unified greeting resounded through the room as the awe and reverence in the voices of these veterans was audible and clear. Although it was true that technically they were all on equal footing in this mission, there were still those that deserved more respect than others. This man who had served as the second seat of the Black Scripture for over 50 years was naturally such a person.

The black robed figure rose from the couch and vaguely revealed the appearance of an elderly man that one would guess was at least 80 years old if not more. Though it could not compare to Paradyne, he was still someone to whom the term "ancient" could apply as a joke if not for real. at the very least by the human world's standards he was someone who qualified to be called a Hero.

His snow-white hair and trimmed white beard his a powerful gaze that felt penetrating and profound to all who saw it. Although his face was wrinkled, his robe hid a powerful physique that one would never expect belonged to a man his age.

"The matter of Momon is of little concern to us as long as he does not initiate anything. Right now, those fossils back at base are preparing an initial probe of the Sorcerer King's base, and us fooling around here isn't going to do us any good. The plan remains unchanged. After we break the siege of Sibil, we dismantle the beastmen army step by step and drive them back to the Molaki River."

"Yes!"

Not a single person in this room would dare to question the judgement of this man who could be considered a legend. Even if they disagreed in any way, they would remain silent as their part was to preserve and accept the words of the man that had guided the Black Scripture to victory for generations.

"Tristan-sama, if I may? The report also said that besides Darkness and the emissary of the Dragon Kingdom, a member of the Sorcerer King's retinue is also coming along to start negotiations on talks with the Dragon Kingdom. How do we deal with this?"

Tristan looked at the man who spoke for a small instant as he was seemingly contemplating various scenarios for handling the situation. Finally, after a slight pause, he made up his mind and spoke sternly.

"Ignore them. Aside from its strategic importance as the border nation with the rest of the non-human world, the Dragon Kingdom has little value anymore as most of the civilians have already fled to other nations. If Draudillon wants to make peace with the Sorcerer King and ride on his coattails, then the fossils will make her pay for it in time and in full. It is not our place to meddle."

Tristan could not help but stroke his white beard as had become habit these last few years whenever he was in deep thought. Even though he hated doing things that made him look like an old man.

"But I've become rather interested in just what sort of monster the Sorcerer King will send to negotiate with that elderly child queen. Gather your things, you lot; we're going to the meeting place, too! I want to see whether or not this Momon fellow truly deserves the attention of those old fogies!"

There was a unanimous sound of approval and rallying that reverberated through the room as the group set out to meet with the other adventurers. The time for the dragon Kingdom's counterattack seemed to have come at last.

 **AA: another day, another part! So the next part I'm planning is pretty big as there is plenty of interesting stuff to do, so do forgive this part being smaller compared to the others. I'll try to get it done by the weekend so you'll get to enjoy it Sunday or Monday, but I can't promise anything. Looking back, it's already been more than a year since I started writing Light's Downfall, and I hope I can get you to enjoy many more of the chapters that I'll write in the future. After I'm done with March, I'll restart doing Lodos in case anyone is still waiting to see how that story ends. XD**

 **But for now and as always…**

 **Burn in Hell Yen Press!**

 **And…**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


	8. Chapter 2 part 3

**Chapter 2 part 3**

Unlike other cities, the capital of the Dragon Kingdom, Lux, was not built for defense, but instead for architectural beauty. In its heyday, the city was said to have been under the protection from the Brightness Dragon Lord, who guarded the city during the era of the demon Gods and battled the Goblin King to a draw. Although its protector had left, the city still retained the beauty that it had enjoyed during its peak.

The layout was picturesque, and the streets were well paved and decorated with flowers and statues. Most of those were naturally statues of dragons and the dragon lord himself. Nonetheless, the city was an artistic gem amongst dung when compared to the rest of the country and even to all the cities in the human realm. Perhaps only Tuskar in the Slane Theocracy or Peibart in the City-state alliance could compare to the capital's splendor.

People moved through the capital like frightened animals as everyone was on edge. If the fortress city of Sibil were to fall, then all hope for the capital would be gone. There were simply not enough men to last, and even if the adventurers were to aid in the fight, it would not guarantee the survival of the Dragon Kingdom.

Too much blood had been spilled already. The people did not have hope. This was further proven by the Exodus of people that had fled the capital when they sensed the waves of turmoil approaching.

Perhaps the only ones not on edge right now were the adventurers themselves. Although they had been steadily getting deployed to fight against the beastmen, they could survive anywhere if they so wished. Adventurers were worth their weight in gold, after all. The reason that most of them stayed was because they did not estimate the chances of the Dragon Kingdom's survival to be as bleak as its citizens thought.

To them, the act of saving the nation was something that was paired with receiving enough riches to last themselves a lifetime. They might even be raised to nobility by the queen and marry some beautiful doll from a declining noble family. Compared to starting over in another nation, it was a tempting path to many.

Of course, this was only true for most adventurers that were of the platinum rank and below. Those that had reached Mythril hardly cared for wealth as their contributions had earned them enough to live anywhere they wanted. As such, the number high-level adventurer teams that the royal government could muster was extremely limited. The exodus combined with the war had reduced their arsenal of adventurers to a measly 10 platinum teams, 3 Mythril teams, and only one Adamantite team as their spearhead against the beastmen.

If not for the last minute reinforcements from the Theocracy and the sudden help from the Sorcerous Kingdom, then perhaps the queen and her aides would have already completely fallen into despair by now.

Cerabrate could not help but smirk as he looked at the gate to the castle's courtyard just as he passed through it. Two marble dragons stood guard on both sides of the gate in such a way that would deter any who might think about trespassing. The truth of the capital was not quite so imposing anymore. In olden times, this place was said to be the home of a powerful dragon, but now if Cerabrate wished, he could break into this palace and kill everyone in it just on his own. Not that he would do something so boorish, but it proved how pathetic its defenses had become.

Crystal Tear was the last adventurer team to enter the palace courtyard, so they received quite vigorous stares from all the other adventurers who had already arrived. After all, trash though he may be Cerabrate, was still undoubtedly the strongest adventurer of the kingdom.

Cerabrate couldn't care less about the gazes that were observing him from the sides. To him, amateurs and low lives were unfit to meet his gaze in the slightest. The only group he was interested in was the scripture from the Slane Theocracy.

Sweeping over the crowd, he noticed a lone group of black clad figures that stood in the shadow of the palace's courtyard, making them almost impossible to notice at first glance.

 _Heh, seems like it's not Black and I would've heard Nigun's annoying voice by now if it was Light but they don't seem like Flower or those lunatics from Holocaust. Just who the hell did those old farts send?_

Before he could organize his thoughts, he felt a light tap on his shoulder from one of his teammates.

"You think it, too, right? Those guys are not from any of the six scriptures. But I am getting a dangerous feeling from the one leaning up against the wall. It's like my skin is being poked with a hot rod."

The one that spoke was Vaughn, who had donned a strange wooden mask to hide his face. It almost seemed like an old spirit of the forest had spoken.

"A feeling like a hot rod you say? Well, I know of one person who gave me the same vibe, but that's impossible. No it's not impossible but still so ever close to unfathomable."

Perhaps it was unconscious or simply instinct, but the grip around his sword tightened as he thought of that person that could cause even his hairs to stand on end. In the entire Slane Theocracy, there were only three individuals capable of such a feat, and only two of them were God-kin. The third one being the retired second seat of the Black Scripture's old guard and his former mentor.

Just after Cerabrate and his team had entered the courtyard, the large ebony gates to the palace hall opened, and a robust man wearing robust armor instead of the usual noble attire came walking out with a gaud expression on his face, as if he hadn't slept in days. He only took a moment to survey the various groups of people that had arrived before he spoke up with a loud yet not domineering or deafening voice.

"All leaders of the assembled teams step forward!"

The entire courtyard was instantly turned silent as the various adventurer teams briefly murmured something before sending their respective leaders forward.

Cerabrate likewise stepped forward whilst keeping a close eye on the member of the Black Scripture that was likewise stepping forth. All in all, a total of 22 people stepped forth. The only reason this number was as big as it was could be linked to the arrival of the gold-plated adventurer teams from the empire that had come to help as well as the team from the Slane theocracy that was dispatched.

As soon as all the members were assembled, the gaudy man finally spoke again.

"I am the second in command of the department of military affairs in the Dragon Kingdom, Laugos Votir Oricaras. I will skip the pleasantries and jump right to the main point. You adventurers will each be shuffled into various flanks of the relief army which will be heading towards Sibil soon. Until the city is freed from the siege, you are to follow all orders of the military commanders that you will be assigned to and not make a mess out of the battle by treating it as one of your usual quests. Likewise, desertion will be handled as if you were soldiers of the army, even if you have been hired by the Draconic Kingdom. As adventurers, you routing would have a severe impact on the morale of the soldiers, and so we ask that you remain clear on this point."

As those words rang out, various team leaders' faces turned sour. Seemingly, some of them had thought about running if things got bad, but now they would be regarded as deserters by the Dragon Kingdom if they did? It was haunting to think about. Although they would most likely not be captured and tried if they ran, there was still a real chance that they would be blacklisted by the adventurer guild and forced to become workers in another nation.

"After the siege has been broken, you will have the choice to either retire from the battle or join with the minister's plan to completely repel the Beastmen invasion. You will be given the details by the general in Sibil should you succeed in freeing the city. Success will be rewarded with the aforementioned reward plus a bonus for every head of a beastmen denoted as 'red', 'blue' or 'white'. Those beastmen are those of higher combat abilities, and thus far more dangerous than the usual brown beastmen. Killing those will count as an extra service to the kingdom and will be aptly rewarded."

Upon hearing this, the faces of those generals turned slightly more enthusiastic as they naturally would be interested in an increase in rewards.

"You will be setting off in a few hours after you have been assigned your respective divisions and have received your send off by the nation's own monarch. Are there any questions? Ask them now or shut your traps."

It was clear that was a rhetoric question as anyone could tell that Laugos could not be bothered to answer every little question that these adventurers might have. He merely said it as a courtesy to the adventurers in the hopes they would not be offended too much.

"I have a question! Where the hell is Darkness? For the so called greatest Adamantite adventurers of the Sorcerous Kingdom, they sure know how to take their time!"

The one who spoke these insensitive words was naturally Cerabrate, who couldn't give a rat's ass about this man's intentions. He had only three objectives in coming here. The first was to see that loli queen before departing. The second was to see which scripture Slane had sent to reinforce the kingdom, and the third was to see just what kind of man had sold out to an undead after becoming humanity's greatest protector.

Failing on the first two so far already put him in a bad mood, so he naturally demanded to know where the vaunted Momon from Darkness was.

"Darkness has to traverse the greatest distance before coming here, so naturally their arrival seems to be late, but actually we should be thankful they will come at all. However, if the message I got an hour ago is to be believed, then they should be arriving any second now."

Laugos seemed to have a bit of a wry smile as he spoke those words, and surprisingly turned his attention to the sky as he answered the question, making others think they will arrive from the sky.

"Oh? They are coming here using the [Fly] spell? If that's the case, then perhaps I shouldn't look down on them since only a capable mage would be able to manage something like that."

"What's this? The so-called number one most arrogant adventurer of the Dragon Kingdom actually acknowledges someone else? Seems like leaving the Theocracy has done you well, huh?"

The voice that responded to Cerabrate's praise was a female one coming from the black robed figure that stepped forth from the Slane group.

"That voice… you are Maria? Just what the hell? Did that council of twelve morons decide to dust off trash that had been laying around without purpose to plug the hole in manpower?"

Cerabrate could only chuckle at hearing Maria's voice. He had been slightly worried that there would be a problem with the reinforcements from Slane, but if the rest of them were all on Maria's level, then he was more than safe. After all, she was just a dropout that had died once and was unable to regain the minimum level of strength required to be a member of the Windflower Scripture.

"Trash, huh? If Tristan-sama heard that, I'm sure he would give you a good old beating just like when you were still his student. Why don't you go over there with me to say hello to him? I'm sure he's just **burning** with desire to see you."

It was as if his entire stomach had just been turned inside out when he heard the name Tristan coming from Maria. The one person that he hoped he would never have to see in his life again had actually come to the same kingdom as him. The Dragon of Men, Tristan, had been dispatched to reinforce the Dragon Kingdom. Even if he was an Adamantite adventurer, he still felt himself break out in cold sweat when faced with that old monster.

Even the other adventurers seemed perturbed by the name Tristan. Although they had never heard of him, they could tell just by Cerabrate's reaction that he was someone they could not take lightly.

"Lady Maria, I ask that you refrain from frightening and or provoking the other adventurers with your statements. We are all here on the basis of protecting the nation - you as well, Cerabrate-sama - and need not engage in meaningless banter. Furthermore, you are mistaken about Darkness' way of transportation as well. They are arriving here on beast, not by spells."

These words were somewhat surprising to the adventurers. By beast meant that they were riding a griffon here, but taming such a beast required years of training that was usually reserved for nobles or occasionally their bastards. An adventurer riding these beasts was not uncommon, it was unheard of.

"How surprising, to think that this heroic legend from the Sorcerous Kingdom actually turns out to be just some pompous rich kid of noble birth. He has quite the gall riding in here on a griffon."

"You are still wrong."

Laugos could not be bothered to look at Cerabrate anymore as his gaze focused on the sky above the capital. Specifically on a certain object that could be seen flying through the sky towards the palace.

The group of adventurers standing next to Laugos were the next ones to notice it, followed by the other adventurers in the courtyard, and eventually the entire palace as well as people outside of the city.

"Dragon! Run for cover, you idiots!"

It was unclear who the first to say it was, but the entire courtyard became like a disturbed ant's nest as all the adventurers scrambled to different directions upon seeing the creature coming this way.

The only ones that remained unmoved were Cerabrate's group, the members of Slane, and the deputy minister Laugos who looked at the approaching dragon with a shocked but surprisingly calm expression.

Steadily, the giant beast came down in a slow descent as it neatly landed at the center of the courtyard. All too surprising was the fact that in its paws was a creature that resembled a giant ball of fur with a scaled tail.

As soon as the dragon was close enough to the ground, it promptly dropped the creature before descending itself.

"Ah dono, we're finally here. I thought I was gonna die dono! This dragon kept saying that he was going to drop me because I'm too heavy."

Quite surprising, sounds were coming from this strange creature, as it almost seemed to be pouting, looking at the figures that were sitting atop the dragon. These characters could only be described as unbelievable.

Excluding two, the two human men that jumped off from the dragon almost as soon as it touched the ground and looked like they could just weep from joy that the ride was over, all other figures inspired awe each in their own way when one saw them.

The most eye-catching was the raven-haired beauty that was standing almost at the dragon's neck. She was of such splendor that the adventurers that before could not wait to get as far away as possible could now only think about running towards the beast and become the lucky person to help her get off like a fair lady getting off a carriage.

Beside her was a tiny little dark elf girl that held in her hands an out of place wooden staff, making her seem like something from a fairytale or a dream. If the raven-haired beauty inspired lust and passion, then this blonde elf girl would inspire one to dote on her as much as possible.

That was unfortunately where the pleasant view ended as the rest of the figures inspired nothing but dread.

Most horrible of all were the four black-clad figures that wore horrific spiked armor and thick plated shields and blades. There were no eyes behind the slit of their dark helmets, only four pairs of menacing red lights that seemed to stare into the depths of your soul.

The only exception was the full-plate black knight that only had two broadswords on his back and a small red cape that was fluttering in the wind as he stood up from the dragon and descended.

As soon as this figure dropped down, so did the rest of the figures that thus far had remained unmoved.

"… So this is what it looks like. A man who has betrayed humanity."

Cerabrate could not help but utter has he measured Momon with himself, and had to admit defeat in terms of aura and charisma. He could not inspire this kind of awe from simply entering the scene. With or without a dragon, he lacked a certain captivating charm.

"Huh? What… just what is that?!"

Cerabrate's eyes suddenly widened as he shifted his gaze to another person which caused his jaw to drop to the floor.

 _Truly the epitome of beauty…_

He could not help but think this as his eyes fell on the little elf girl that was standing next Momon. He has previously thought that the queen of this kingdom was perhaps the most beautiful little girl he had ever seen, but even she seemed average compared to the demure outlook of this first class beauty that had appeared before him. Her outfit, her gaze, all of it was as lovely as a summer sunset, and even he could not help but forget to breathe for a moment.

Seeing this, his other teammates could not help but smile wryly as they were more than familiar with that look on his face, and shuddered at the thought of what might happen if they were not careful.

The members of the Slane Theocracy likewise had their eyes glued to not Momon but Mare instead as each of them stared with intense fervor but more importantly unrelenting bloodlust. Each and every single one of them looked at the dark elf girl with such hatred that one would think they had met their arch nemesis.

Even Tristan, who had been sitting in the shadows looking at the whole spectacle without moving, had stood up just now upon seeing Mare descend from the dragon.

Even in his eyes, there was a clear aura of blood-boiling hatred that seemed to frighten even the other members of the group.

"T-t-Tristan-sama! That elf girl, she's…."

"Yes, I saw it, too. Her eyes are heterochromatic. In all my years, I have seen only one elf with those eyes, and I had hoped to never see one like it again. That girl, is she related to that monster?"

The other members of the group shook from pure anger, but there was also a trace of fear as they looked on. The fact that an elf with those eyes had appeared before them meant that one of two things were possible. Either the king of the Elf nation had sired another successful hybrid with a dark elf from the neighboring dark elf nation, or such an elf had been born naturally by chance as had been the case with the elf king.

Neither of those two possibilities were very pleasant, as any elf with those eyes was likely to possess the same power as the king. Which meant that if it came to a brawl between them, and that girl it would be a bitter struggle even for them.

The only difference was that the first explanation would indicate that most likely the elf king and the Sorcerer King had formed a pact of some sort which was disastrous for Slane and them. The second merely indicated that the Sorcerer king's reach already stretched beyond the reaches of the Slane Theocracy and touched deep into the heart of the wildlands on the Theocracy's southern border.

The black clad warrior looked over the crowd with a calm demeanor, like a lord looking over his folk but without the usual hint of arrogance in his voice. After a quick sweep, he made his introduction.

"Nice to meet you, ladies and gentlemen of the Dragon Kingdom. I am Momon of the Sorcerous Kingdom. I look forward to working with you all. Do forgive the abrupt entrance."

The sudden arrival of this Adamantite adventurer which came in unbelievable fashion and with unbelievable entourage left the other adventurers gobsmacked as they kept switching their gazes between the various personas that had arrived, not quite sure who to pay the most attention to.

Not even the deputy minister Laugos knew quite what to say and how to greet this sudden arrival, as someone like him was unfit to welcome not just him, but more importantly the emissary from the Sorcerous Kingdom as well.

"Cifon-dono, these people here seem quite surprised at our visit. Are you certain that you informed them of our arrival and our transportation?"

Cifon was still shaking at the legs from the flight over at this time. Someone like him, who was incapable of feeling fear naturally, would not be afraid to fly, but it was more like his body rejected the very notion of flying and as such left him in quite a sorry state.

"My apologies, Momon-sama. I have told them time and time again, but the higher-ups did not want to believe that we would arrive on a dragon no matter how many times I told them."

Just as Laugos finally gave up and decided to go greet the group regardless of etiquette, a faint set of steps could be heard coming from behind him.

"So it really was true that Sorcerer king-sama had tamed giant dragons and uses them as mounts! How amazing!"

A very childlike voice rang loud and clear from inside the palace hall as out from behind Laugos walked a petite child wearing an elegant pink gown and a small silver tiara on her head.

On her face there was an expression of pure joy and childish amazement as she lovingly gazed at the white dragon that had carried the group here.

"Oh my, this child is actually a mixed one?"

The white dragon could not help but remark as he looked at the queen walking towards him.

"My queen!"

Upon seeing the childlike figure appearing, Cifon and Rog as well as all the soldiers and even Laugos kneeled deeply in salute of their monarch.

To say that despite everything their queen retained her power and popularity would only be half right, as it could be said that it was because they were under attack that people clung to their monarch in times of despair seeing as the enemy was hell bent on killing them all for food.

"You are Lord Barbes, correct? You have done so well bringing back help against those scary beastmen. This queen would like to reward you handsomely after this is meeting. Is it okay if I call you, Barbes-chan?"

Despite the childish way of speech and voice, Cifon stayed calm as he responded in an almost mechanical fashion with words that seemed more like a proverb than an answer.

"If this one is in your majesty's memory, that will be all the gratitude that I need."

This was the custom way to thank a monarch for a reward in public, and so Cifon methodically recited the words that he had been taught to say, earning him a slight nod of acknowledgement from the queen.

"Now then, you must be Momon-sama from the Sorcerous Kingdom, correct? And this cute little elf by your side must be the emissary from the Sorcerous kingdom that Barbes-chan spoke of."

"Indeed, your majesty. I am Momon, and this is Mare and my companion Nabe along with a few guards sent to aid us from the Sorcerous Kingdom. Do look after us."

Despite initial pause from Nabe, all members of the group bowed towards the queen in a respectful manner as they saluted her.

"Well then, Momon-sama, Nabe-sama, and Mare-sama, and also Barbes-chan. Please follow me into the palace as we have some things I would like to discuss with you ~Teehee."

The last sound was almost comical as it looked too childlike to be real when said by a queen whilst she displayed cute big eyes and clasped her hands together oh so innocently.

Momon and his group gave a slight nod as they started following behind the queen into the palace only to suddenly…

"Please wait a moment!"

A faint clicking sound could be heard coming from the queen as she turned around to look at the person whose voice had just resounded from the courtyard. In truth, she already knew who it was, and already wished that this person would just up and die without him embarrassing her like this.

The man that shouted out was naturally Cerabrate.

 **AA: so here we are again… can't say I'm happy about the one week delay since i still have more than half a volume to write but school kicked in for me so them's the breaks. next part will be released "probably" the same time next week but you know better than to trust me. ;)**

 **now that i've started a new volume I'm again looking for anyone willing to make a bit of fanart for the cover like last time. pm me if anyone is interested and remember that for early access just go to the overlord discord and become a member of the theocracy faction or don't and just hang out there for fun with me and Nigel and some other skythewood members. (just don't bug them without reason, they bite)**

 **that's all for now look forward to next time and remember…**

 **Burn in Hell Yen Press!**

 **and…**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


	9. Chapter 2 part 4

**Chapter 2 part 4**

Draudillon internally almost boiled with rage at this time. In her entire life, there were only three people she had truly hated from the bottom of her heart. Even though she had dealt with small rebellions and suppressed nobles, there had only been three individuals that had truly enraged her to her core.

One of them was this man.

Cerabrate still looked haughty and arrogant as he approached Draudillon with his hand on his sword's hilt.

"Your majesty, this man is an Adamantite adventurer. Meeting with this foreign man is far too dangerous! No matter what kind of guards you have, I can assure you that they will be insufficient against someone as powerful as him. For your and the nation's safety, please allow me to accompany you as your personal bodyguard for now."

It had to be said that for someone as despicable as Cerabrate, he could put on a convincing performance. Even Draudillon herself would have thought he was honest if she didn't know any better. She had a good idea as to why this filth wanted to be present at the meeting so badly.

"Judging from the white armour… you must be Fierce Flash, right?"

The one who spoke was Momon, who gave a glance to Cerabrate and seemed utterly unimpressed by the domineering attitude that Cerabrate displayed.

"I was sent here on a diplomatic mission to both escort Mare-sama and assist this nation in repelling the Beastmen invasion. Doing something to harm or insult the monarch of this nation would be a great blemish upon the Sorcerous Kingdom and would put me in quite a bind myself. I hope you will forego any notions that I am a threat to her majesty."

Compared to the overly arrogant and oppressive Cerabrate, the rest of the adventurers present felt quite a gentle air coming from Momon. If judged purely on charisma and heroic aura, it was clear which of the two was superior in their eyes.

"Cerabrate-sama, Momon-sama is an honoured guest from the Sorcerous Kingdom. Please don't be so rude towards him. He and the emissary are welcomed by the Dragon kingdom on behalf of me, its monarch. I kindly ask you to wait whilst I go discuss some private matters of state."

 _These people are perhaps our last hope for our nation since you're such a piece of thrash; go f*ck off and die, you lolicon bastard._

How Draudillon wished she could say those words instead of keeping up her usual innocent appearance. But for better or worse, Cerabrate was the Dragon Kingdom's last Adamantite adventurer. Now more than ever, his skills were indispensable, and telling him off could potentially scare him away, which would be a disaster to the kingdom's interests.

So the only thing left was to very kindly tell him to back off without hurting his feelings.

"Since your majesty has spoken, I will naturally obey, but I must insist that this man that has sold out to an undead sorcerer stays behind."

Narberal was about to step out as she was already more than fed up with this idiot but was stopped by Momon.

"You really don't seem to like me that much, Cerabrate-sama, even though we've never met before."

"Damn right I don't! We adventurers are sworn to protect the weak from monsters and the undead. Someone like you that has chosen to serve an undead regardless of what your reason is - you are nothing more than a disgrace to adventurers and Adamantite Adventurers in particular. For starters, I'm not even sure that plate around your neck is really a good measure of your skill."

"I can assure you that my skills are quite adequate. But if you insist that I am a danger to your monarch whilst saying that my skills are fake, then I have no qualms about letting you join the meeting, provided that her majesty and the emissary are not opposed."

Draudillon still stared at Cerabrate with a tranquil and kind look, but deep inside her eyes, there was a murderous intention that would cause one's blood to freeze. Although she could not show it, if Cerabrate was even the slightest bit more expendable than he was, she would have thrown him in jail by now for high treason or the like.

"I have no problems with your proposal, but I fear I don't know whether or not Mare-sama would be okay with Cerabrate-sama attending this meeting."

Even now, she could still keep up her child-like appearance and speech pattern that made everyone in the courtyard confused as to how old this queen actually was.

"It's n-no problem for me… uhm, that is to say… it's fine if Cerabrate-san wishes to join."

"Then we are all agreed; let us go proceed to the meeting room your majesty. I fear that there is much to discuss. At least if that's still okay with you, Cerabrate-san."

Giving a small nod, Cerabrate accepted Momon's words as the group of Draudillon, Momon, Mare, Cerabrate, Cifon, and the vice minister went into the palace, leaving behind Nabe and Hamsuke as well as the strange black knights that had come with them and the dragon that they had used to come here.

…

"Tristan-sama… is this all right? I know we said that we wouldn't get involved in this kind of matter, but at the very least we should send Maria in to gather intelligence. What those guys discuss in there could be of vital importance to our nation."

Tristan, at this moment, was still sitting cross-legged with his back against the wall as he had watched the entire spectacle unfold. Not even when the dragon had started to descend had he moved from his spot. If anything, he had merely opened his eyes from the racket.

"Leave them be. If Maria is discovered, it will be the same as revealing our intentions to Momon. From what the reports said, that elf should be the same as the one that came to greet the Emperor in the Baharuth Empire. According to the reports, she is an incredibly skilled mage that might very well be one of the Sorcerer King's' closest aides. There's no guarantee that she won't be found out."

Tristan closed his eyes again as if he had lost interest and indicated that the matter was finished. Being the figure that he was, there was no one that would dare to contradict him anyway.

….

The meeting room was a spacious and well-lit classical room that would remind one more of a stately drawing room than a meeting place for royalty. All over the walls were paintings of monarchs and figures of royalty and even one painting of a golden dragon soaring over the capital in what appeared to be a depiction of the Brightness Dragon Lord.

The room was well decorated and had a lot of high quality furniture with a long dining table. Paired with twelve quality chairs lined up opposite of each other on both sides. On the table, there were parchments and pieces of paper as well as beverages and snacks for the guests.

Even as a noble, Cifon had to admit that he couldn't hold a candle to the prestige of royalty. The wealth of the royal family even in such troubled times was well and beyond what a lowly noble like him could come in contact with.

Momon and Mare, on the other hand, seemed unimpressed as they sat down to the seats that were given to them so that they could start negotiations.

"Well then, although I may be speaking out of line here, I would recommend that we skip the pleasantries and formalities. You all know that I am the Adamantite Adventurer Momon and have been sent here to render aid in your struggle against the Beastmen Kingdom. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"U-u-uhm, I am Mare Bello Fiore, Guardian of the sixth floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and… uhm, designated emissary to the Dragon Kingdom on behalf of Ainz Ooal Gown. N-nice to meet you all."

As imposing as the rumoured Adamantite hero Momon may be, all eyes at this point were focused on the small dark elf child that had been seated across from the queen. The enchanting heterochromatic eyes combined with the strange gauntlets and wooden staff left everyone almost in a trance at how she was still so charming despite the irregular appearance.

 _An absolute beauty! I must have her! With how these talks will be progressing, if I can just eliminate that annoying bodyguard on the battlefield, then she'll be unprotected and I can have my fun with her without being exposed if I'm careful._

Looking on with lecherous eyes, Cerabrate almost licked his lips at the thought of ravishing such an exotic treat like Mare. Before, he had been convinced that Draudillon was the most prime target for his tastes, but she was quite significantly outdone by Mare now.

As of now, Draudillon no longer was worth risking his life for now that she had been replaced by a much more appetising morsel.

The only reason that he even still joined this meeting and insisted on being part of it was to ensure that he would know where the emissary would be so that he could plan his assault on her as carefully as possible.

"Well… then, this scroll is what Ainz-sama asked me to give to you. It contains the terms and conditions for our help in repelling the Beastmen invasion. P-please read it."

A thick black scroll engraved with a strange symbol that Draudillon and her queen could only guess was the mark of Ainz Ooal Gown was passed along to Draudillon's minister, and after confirming it was safe, given to her.

The other ministers and even Cifon from a distance glanced at it as they read the scroll's contents with varying expressions. After a while, finally all of them had read it, and most sank into a deep contemplating expression as they were unsure of what to say.

Finally, one of the ministers that seemed to have the highest ranking of those present chose to speak.

"So in the end it's subjugation, huh?"

All of the ministers present had a wry smile on their face to hide their true feeling at this time. Even Draudillon had a hard time keeping up her childish form as the scrolls terms were simple yet incredibly hard to swallow.

"So if I am to understand the Sorcerer King's intentions correctly, he promises a full defeat of all the Beastmen that have set foot on our land in exchange for our nation's full surrender as a vassal state in which all of our resources, citizens, and knowledge are property of the Sorcerous Kingdom?"

"Yes… I mean Ainz-sama wishes to help this nation for a price, but only if you become subordinates of the Sorcerous Kingdom like the people of the Baharuth Empire."

There was neither malice nor arrogance in the elf's tone as to the ministers and Draudillon, Mare appeared meek and nervous, so it could be assumed that diplomacy was not this elf girl's strong suit.

If that was to be believed, then there should be no underlying message, and these were really the Sorcerer King's terms.

Speaking purely from a practical point of view, it was quite fair. The army of Beastmen was almost at the capital's doorstep, and there was little doubt that even with the adventurers aiding in the campaign to break the siege, they would still be most likely unsuccessful. Although, there was still the group from Slane Theocracy, but even then the odds were slim.

The problem was that most of the people in this room were keenly aware that the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown was an undead; as such, he was sure to harbour a clear distaste for humanity and life itself. To prostrate themselves before an undead, even if it meant repelling the Beastmen, felt like they were running away from a Basilisk into a dragon's den.

Seeing their disgruntled faces, Ainz could not help but chuckle underneath his helmet. He didn't need a mind reading spell to see what was going on their heads right now. The thought of serving an undead was after all not something one would warm up to easily.

"I can see that you gentlemen of the Dragon kingdom are in panic over the thought of serving an undead. However, as the guardian and prospector of E-Rantel, I can guarantee you that those that serve under the Sorcerous King, to the best of my knowledge, are never mistreated. That much I can stake my pride as an Adamantite adventurer on."

"Uhm, I-I think so, too! Ainz-sama never hurts people that he likes! He is a very kind and wise master… at least that is what I feel."

Under the vibrant plea of those two, the other ministers felt a bit more comfortable, but still had enormous doubts about the authenticity of those words. The hatred of undead against all things with life in them was ironclad, and to believe that this "Sorcerer King" was any different would be a difficult thing to swallow immediately.

"Lord Barbes, you have been to the Sorcerous Kingdom's capital and have seen his land firsthand. What are your thoughts?"

Cifon, at this time, was still looking with a dim expression at the scroll. Hesitantly, he finally spoke.

"I have personally met with king Gown and can assure you that the hatred that is typical in the undead does not seem to be present in him. When negotiating to bring Momon here as well as the emissary, he did not give off the aura of someone that is hell-bent on killing the living."

The reply was met with surprised gasps from the ministers as they heard Cifon's monotone recount of the current situation in E-Rantel. Even the queen had trouble keeping a straight and innocent face as they heard about Death Knights being used as city guards and Dragons used as convenient cargo carriers.

Using one as a mount could already be considered a feat that few in this world could boast, and even the dragon riders in the north could only raise a dragon breed that was much smaller and more docile than actual full blood dragons.

"So then, Fiore-sama. Let me confirm one more thing. What does Ainz Ooal Gown mean when he says that he'll quote: "subjugate" the Beastmen? Was your lord not set on repelling the invasion for us? What does he mean by subjugating them?"

"Eh? Ah that is well… Ainz-sama… uhm…."

"I can answer that for Mare-san. Ainz Ooal Gown is a collector of rare specimens of sorts. Creatures that spark his interests he collects and turn into vassals or pets on occasion. The dragons Cifon-san spoke of as well as a tribe of Lizardmen amongst others were all in a way collected by him. I myself in a way am also a good example of this. Ainz Ooal Gown probably means to chain up the Beastmen and have them live as his property somewhere."

Seeing Mare have trouble answering decisively, Momon interjected.

Hearing his response, the others could only gasp in awe at this claim. To repel the invasion was a feat that could be achieved with enough manpower and time, but to capture the entire Beastmen race would be a feat that would require significantly more power that not even a dragon lord might necessarily possess. Although they had heard rumours about the great power that the Sorcerer King possessed, they were still just rumours, and as such they could not quite believe that this undead was capable of such a feat.

"Those are grand claims the Sorcerer King is making, but you can imagine that our nation will need time to decide whether or not we can accept your terms."

Laugos, as the one with most knowledge of military matters, finally spoke on behalf of the other ministers, his words hinting that if the Sorcerer King could indeed achieve such feats, then the probability of them submitting would be all the more likely.

"That is not a problem. For now, I would like to apologise, but I and the emissary, along with Nabe, will be heading towards Sibil to lift the siege."

The eyes of all from the Dragon Kingdom except Cifon widened in shock as they heard those words. The emissary was leaving for Sibil? That was a diplomatic act that was unheard of. Momon going to Sibil whilst the emissary stayed here was one thing, but all of them going to Sibil was an entirely different matter. Even more so since they had not yet agreed on any conditions.

"Momon-sama, why in the world are you already deciding on joining the relief army when we haven't yet agreed to your nation's demands?"

"Is there any need for me to wait until your permission to go save innocent lives? The deal applies to the Sorcerer King and his aides repelling and subjugating the Beastmen invasion. However, I don't fall under that category, and as such am free to help whoever I want as long as I act as a guard for Mare-sama."

A true hero…

All those that saw him except for Cerabrate felt the same. This man in front of them was the epitome of protector of the human race that all Adamantite adventurers strived towards. Not waiting for politics and doing whatever helps most people. This is a true saviour's mentality.

"I will leave with Mare-sama for Sibil and do my best in repelling the Beastmen invasion. If the services from the Ainz Ooal Gown prove unnecessary, then naturally you won't have to hand over your nation in exchange for his help. However, if there comes a time when you are forced to choose between saving the country and not having to become a vassal state for the Sorcerer King, I would recommend you reconsider dooming yourself."

With that, both Momon and Mare gave a last respectful bow as they stood up and left the meeting room, not having touched a single beverage or piece of food. With that, they respectfully left the room and headed back outside as the ministers and the queen were left in a daze still looking at the seats they had occupied.

"Everyone but Laugos and Vehlen out now!"

Finally, an enraged cry erupted from the queen, who had dropped any semblance of her usual childish character and motioned to everyone except the two ministers that they should leave immediately.

Still not sure what to think, all the guards, ministers, and even Cerabrate were shown the door. Cerabrate said no words as he merely looked back at Draudillon and smiled as he walked out with a content look on his face. Having seen Mare and her together, he had made his decision. As of now, he no longer served the Dragon Kingdom.

The door closed behind them and finally clad the meeting room in silence as the two ministers stood silently gazing at their queen.

Draudillon still was looking over the parchment on the table that Mare had given to them, memorising every word on it as the look on her face kept changing by the minute.

"Give us your orders, my queen. To my eyes, it seems like this deal is simply shaking hands with a demon. It is best if we leave it alone and focus on repelling the invasion with what we have. We have one of the scriptures here as well, after all."

Laugos was the first to finally break the silence as he commented on the proposal now that all the riffraff had been escorted out.

"No, I think as well that we should first try to deal with this problem relying on the adventurers and the scripture, but the horde of Beastmen this time is unlike anything we have seen before, and is said to be even bigger than what we had previously thought. I'm afraid we are underestimating the level of threat this invasion poses even now. We can't discard the idea of requesting help from a nation, no matter their conditions, if things are this dire."

Both of the men had valid points, but in the end they both looked at Draudillon for the answer. Only she had the power to make this decision right now. After she had looked over the contents of the scroll for a third and final time, she slowly spoke.

"I agree… with Vehlen's proposal. For now we monitor the situation. But if things really do spiral out of control, then I don't care what the consequences might be. We will not let this nation die at the hands of beasts."

Her words of conviction rang through the room as the two ministers finally saw the queen that they had sworn loyalty to and promised to serve. The true ruler of the nation that was once called a dragon lord herself.

"I don't care if we have to make a deal with the devil or undead or whatever he is! Heed my decree: for now, the royal party will move forth along with the relief army. If Sibil falls, so will the rest of the nation; therefore, even if I have to prostrate myself before the Sorcerer King, I will not let that happen!"

"As your majesty commands!"

A cry of unison came from the two ministers as they had simultaneously kneeled at her words. A few moments later, a myriad of orders came from the palace as chaos swept through the ranks.

The entire royal army as well as the queen herself…

Was going to war!

 **AA: I told you that I should not be trusted. So this is pretty much the last "boring part" of the novel as from now on we're at war once again!**

 **Finally done with this infuriating piece of literary hell, and it's time to move on to my personal favorite part of the overlord novel: the intermission. For the hardcore Overlord fans, I'm sure you'll recognise where I'm drawing inspiration from when writing it and I think you'll all like it… hehehe.**

 **I can guarantee that the next part will be coming soon since it's so fun to write xD and also shorter than usual chapter parts ;( but cheer up we are still not even halfway the volume yet, so look forward to many more epic scenes and fun as I continue to write. Although, I do have a big announcement to make when I complete March of the Forsaken.**

 **But for now and as always.**

 **Burn in hell Yen Press!**

 **and...**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


	10. intermission

**Intermission.**

The sound of ethereal bells rang through the halls of the temple as the hundreds of white-robed priestesses sat down cross-legged around the basin of water in the middle. The overwhelming presence of white in this place was almost blinding to the eyes as everything in the temple from the stones to the pillars as well as the ceiling was completely snow white and shone brightly due to the incoming sunlight that beamed strongly throughout the hall.

This combined with the droning cacophony of strange prayers that echoed throughout the temple left everyone who came here into an almost hypnotized state.

The great hall of the temple consisted of six giant white beams holding up the dome ceiling of the temple that had a large hole through which sunlight flowed into the room. In the center of the room there was a single pool of water that seemed to be almost boiling at this moment as a strange light erupted from it and created an aurora of saintly light that danced above the basin.

The man looked on with tired but clear eyes as he saw the continuous flow of magical energy form up in the pool of water and the magical symbols on its edges glowing brighter and brighter which caused him to smile involuntarily as he nodded in approval of the spell formation.

He was one of the only men allowed in this place as this was one of the holy temples built during the era of the Six Gods and ever since had only accepted women into its ranks. Some said that the God of Water amongst the Six Gods was a kindest and most accepting of the six and that he built this place to start the foundation upon which the women's equality law in the Theocracy was based upon. After all one of their Archbishops was a women which was unacceptable in both the Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire. Ferdinand however had always secretly thought himself that perhaps the God of Water was just vain and liked to surround himself with beautiful women.

Naturally he would never say this out loud as even the head of the Clearwater Scripture was not allowed to boast such heresy without severe repercussions.

Whatever the purpose of this temple had been in the past, it was now not just a place of worship but a secret location where the Theocracy could perform secret rituals away from prying eyes. Which was precisely what they were doing now.

"What's the matter captain, you seem quite pleased? This spell that we have spent months preparing is finally ready and we have triple checked the location. Does the idea that we will be poking around the Sorcerer King's lair in a bit really entice you that much?"

From behind Ferdinand came a feminine and playful voice as a woman who wore an out of place blue cloak over her body walked up to him.

"Ah sorry Ralka. I was merely admiring the power of many that the world seems to have forgotten. Although it is supposed to be only the power of the gods that can rile magic beyond the 6th tier but with the continuous supply of holy energy from all these priestesses we can achieve a similar result and invoke and 8th tier spell by ourselves. It is quite inspiring to see that humanity together can challenge even realms that are referred to as 'divine' by scribes and bards."

Hearing his response Ralka merely chuckled as she looked towards the basin of water herself and had to admit she should be proud of herself for pulling this all off on such short notice. Due to the Thousand Miles Astrologer still being locked away inside her quarters she had been tasked of setting up the formation that would allow the Slane Theocracy to employ the 8th spell [Water Mirror] that could be seen as a high-level spying spell that could easily break through barriers and counter measures designed to repel surveillance spells.

The question was whether or not it would be effective against Ainz Ooal Gown who was said to possess power that rivals the Six Gods themselves.

From the very first day Ralka had said that she could make no promises and would take no responsibility if it failed considering that she as not just a member of the Clearwater Scripture but also head-priestess of this temple was responsible for its members and their wellbeing. Considering all of this naturally the Archbishops had accepted her terms and still had spared no effort in assisting her.

"It's starting…"

The water inside the pool started gushing and churning all of a sudden as the power almost exploded out of the pool and the water began flowing upward into the air above the basin, forming an almost sheet like thin veil of water that contorted into a screen of water that contained all the power of the spell within it.

"Now, Activate! Maximize Magic [Water Mirror]!"

Responding to Ralka's command the water screen began rippling and changing as it suddenly displayed the image of a wide field of green that seemed to stretch out endlessly with just one group of odd hills in the center that drew all the attention towards them.

"There! That's the Sorcerer King's lair! Come now girls a bit more! We need to see inside!"

It was preparing the spell that cost such large amounts of preparation, the actual controlling required only a slight amount of magic power in comparison but it needed almost all of the priestesses to be in synch as they had to control the magic together under Ralka's orders. Though naturally they had all been rigorously trained beforehand.

As the sounds of the prayers changed into a much more harmonious choir of the same prayer seemingly controlling the spell the water screen contorted once again as the image seemed to almost fly towards the location of the hills until it finally revealed a large white monument that seemed embedded into the plains themselves.

"Just a bit further! There yes that's it!"

Ralka shouted enthusiastically as the spell neared the border of the Tomb of Nazarick. Ferdinand had his eyes wide open as the reason that he was here was because he had the best memory in the entire Theocracy. Even if there was just a spit second of an image that displayed the inside of the lair than he would remember every vivid detail about it down to the last crack of every rock.

"There one last time… By the Six Gods what is that?!"

The screen finally displayed the interior of the place and the sight caused Ralka and Ferdinand to gasp in pure terror. Although the appearance of dozens of Death Knights guarding the entrance was expected but still horrifying it were the other undead creatures that stood guard over the tomb that truly frightened the group beyond belief.

"A den of abominations…"

The sight of the monsters was repulsive to their very eyes as even from the screen they could sense just how powerful and horrendous these figures were.

Ferdinand at this time had to pour all of his concentration into what he was seeing and make sure that he did not forget a single detail of this nightmarish picture. Although he wished to look away from this sight and not have to remember this scene of fright for the rest of his life he had to as a member of Slane and as the captain of the Clearwater Scripture.

"Are those…"

 _Demons?_

He could not finish this word as a deep low voice echoed throughout the hall of the temple even though its point of origin was unclear.

"Intruder detected! Initiating counter measures! Activating counter spell [Shockwave], activating counter spell [Collector Automaton]!"

The voice had barely finished speaking as a wave of energy again burst forward, although this time not from the pool but from the water screen itself!

The wave travelled throughout the temple as it blew away all priestesses sitting next to the pool as well as Ralka and Ferdinand who were powerless to resist the blast.

They were still better off than the priestesses who apparently due to them being connected to the spell earlier all had blood flowing from their nose and eyes. They did not know it yet but most of them had already suffered fatal damage it was just that the effects would only be shown at a later time.

By then of course it would be too late…

"We have to close the spell formation immediately!" Ralka shouted as she struggled to an upright position whilst clenching her broken arm.

Ferdinand was a bit better off as he was quite sturdy and was still looking at the screen with an aghast expression.

"Ferdinand? Do you hear me? We have to end this now!"

Ferdinand merely looked calmly at the screen of water and pointed out with a trembling finger.

"What… the hell is that?"

Looking over at the water screen Ralka now too saw that the water had turned entirely black and almost sludge like as the entire image of the tomb had disappeared and was replaced by a pair of red light that seemed to shine through the void as they seemed to peer into the group's soul. Everyone hoped that their worst fears would not come true and those lights weren't eyes and that whatever created those two lights would remain inside the void of the black screen.

However…

Very quickly whole array of sludge drenched tentacles erupted from the black screen as the tendrils reached out and grabbed anything that wasn't bolted to the ground. Not even the priestesses were spared from this as all the ornaments and holy jewelry that they wore on them were stripped from them by the tendrils along with even the robes they were as well as their undergarments.

Even when the guards rushed in and tried to fight the tendrils they too were robbed of all they had and stripped naked by the sludge drenched tentacles and left in a dirty mess without any way to attack.

At last when it seemed to have run out of things to take the black tentacles withdrew as the black screen of sludge collapsed along with the two red eyes that had been within.

All of this happened in a matter of minutes and the chaos and confusion on everyone's faces was indescribable.

After a while when it seemed like truly the danger had passed, Ralka who like the priestesses was covering her dignity with her hands could not help but shout out.

"Wha… what kind of perverted monster was that just now?!"

 **AA: surprise! A ninja intermission on the same day! My beta is in exams right now so it's unedited but please do look past that. Also this chapter intentionally was not given a day early to the discord fans since I wanted to make the fanfiction fans have a win as well.**

 **The hardcore overlord fans might know this as the as of yet untranslated side story of when the Theocracy tried to spy on Ainz and failed. Since god knows how long of a wait it still is until that gets translated by frostfire I decided to write it out as best as I could.**

 **Next part might be delayed until end of next week but you shouldn't have much to gripe about (even though we all know you will)**

 **But for now and as always!**

 **Burn in Hell Yen Press!**

 **And…**

 **GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN!**


End file.
